',jM>^;-v 


LIBRARY 

OF  THK 

University  OF  California. 

Mrs.  SARAH  P.  WALSWORTH. 

Received  October,  18^4. 
^Accessions  No.^j^^^/r/-      Class  No. 


I 


"\, 


LECTURES 


ON 


SYSTEMATIC    THEOLOGY 


AND 


PULPIT  ELOaUENCE 


BY  THE  LATE  GEORGE  CAMPBELL,  D.  D.  F.  R.  S.  Ed. 

PRINCIPAL   OF   MARISCHAL    COLLKGE,  ABERDEEN. 


TO   WHICH    ARE    ADDED, 

DIALOGUES   ON   ELOQUENCE, 

BY  M.  DE  FENELOX,  ARCHBISHOP  OF  CAMBRAY. 


ED ITED     BY 

HENRY    J.   RIPLEY, 

FROFESSOR   OF   BIBLICAL    LITERATURE   AND   PASTORAL   DUTIES 
IN    THE   NEWTON   THEOLOGICAL    INSTITUTION. 


BOSTON: 
LINCOLN   AND   EDMAND 
1832. 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congp-ess,  in  the  year  1832, 

By  Lincoln  &  Edmands, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  Massachusetts. 


PiREFACE  TO  THE  PRESENT  EDITION. 


To  theological  students  and  ministers  in  this  country,  a  new 
edition  of  the  following  work  will,  it  is  hoped,  be  highly  acceptable. 
The  Lectures  on  Pulpit  Eloquence  are  studied  in  one  of  the  depart- 
ments of  the  Newton  Theological  Institution.  For  several  years 
the  work  has  been  out  of  print,  and  it  has  been  found  difficult  to 
procure  the  requisite  number  of  copies.  In  consequence  of  a  sug- 
gestion from  my  respected  colleague.  Professor  Chase,  I  was 
induced  to  undertake  the  present  edition.  My  original  design  was, 
that  the  Lectures  on  Pulpit  Eloquence  should  be  published  without 
the  Lectures  on  Systematic  Theology;  for  the  latter  course  of 
Lectures  pertains  to  studies  different  from  those  in  regard  to  which 
I  have  a  responsibility,  and  the  two  series  are  not,  from  the  natare 
of  the  subjects,  necessarily  connected. 

Another  perusal,  however,  of  the  Lectures  on  Systematic  The- 
ology has  made  me  unwilling  to  lose  the  present  opportanity  for 
extending  their  influence.  They  inculcate  the  true  mode  in  which 
the  study  of  theology  should  be  conducted.  This  study  has  been 
teo  long  and  too  much  pursued  without  a  thorough  and  an  impar- 
tial investigation  of  the  pure  word  of  God.  And  though  all  have 
joined  in  the  declaration,  'The  Bible,  the  Bible  only,  is  the  religion 
of  Protestants,'  yet  who,  of  only  ordinary  opportunities  for  obser- 
vation, can  have  failed  to  perceive  that  the  spirit  of  this  declaration 
has  not  thoroughly  pervaded  even  favored  places  of  theological 
study  ?  Of  the  impropriety  here  alluded  to,  we  have  all  been 
guilty  ;  we  have  aH  too  much  neglected  -*  the  law  and  the  testimo- 
ny,' and  have  too  much  depended  upon  human  authorities  for  not 
a  few  modes  of  thinking  and  of  expression. 

Deeply  impressed  with  the  correctness  and  the  value  of  the 
sentiments  contained  in  these  Lectures  on  Systematic  Theology,  I 
have  thought  it  desirable  that  they  should  be  perpetuated.     This 


IV  EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 

desire  was  also  somewhat  increased  by  the  fact,  that  the  Theologi* 
cal  Institution  with  which  1  have  the  happiness  to  be  connected, 
has  adopted  a  course  of  study  very  similar  to  that  which  Dr.  Camp- 
bell recommends ;  a  course,  which  does  not  require  a  connected 
scheme  of  theology  to  be  formed  by  the  student,  till  he  shall  have 
carefully  studied  in  the  origint^l  languages,  the  whole  of  the.  New 
Testament  and  the  most  important  portions  of  the  Old. 

It  has,  however,  been  thought  best  to  republish  only  the  first  of 
those  Lectures  vi^hich  have  been  placed,  in  other  editions,  at  the 
commencement  of  the  volume,  and  which  have  been  entitled  Intro- 
ductory Discourses.  The  omission  of  these  Discourses  will  be 
satisfactory  to  all,  when  it  is  stated  that,  with  the  exception  of  the 
first,  they  are  almost  throughout  of  a  local  nature,  having  reference 
to  the  peculiar  state  of  things  in  the  established  church  of  Scotland, 
and  in  the  college  at  Aberdeen,  of  which  the  author  was  Principal. 

For  the  same  reason,  the  first  paragraph  in  the  first  Lecture  on 
Systematic  Theology  has  been  omitted. 

The  Lectures  on  Pulpit  Eloquence  need  no  recommendation. 
During  the  several  years  in  which  I  have  given  instruction  in  the 
department  of  Pastoral  Duties,  I  have  met  with  nothing  so  well 
adapted  to  prepare  a  student  for  the  composition  of  sermons.  This, 
however,  does  not  imply  that  every  thing  contained  in  these  Lec- 
tures is  indispensable,  or  is  in  fact  just  as  it  should  be.  Some  may 
doubt  the  utility  of  the  author's  exact  distribution  of  sermons  into 
the  various  kinds  which  he  mentions.  Some,  again,  may  fear  that 
sermons  executed  according  to  his  directions  would  be  like  marble 
statues,  graceful  indeed,  and  polished,  yet  destitute  of  living  expres- 
sion. But  of  what  system  of  directions  on  any  subject,  as  used 
by  a  beginner,  may  not  the  same  complaint  be  made  ?  Shall  the 
artist  then  refuse  to  study  rules  ?  Shall  we  have  no  books  on  rhet- 
oric 1  It  requires  no  uncommon  share  of  good  sense  either  in  a 
student  or  an  instructer,  least  of  all  in  the  affectionate  pastor,  ta 
derive  the  contemplated  benefit  from  a  system  of  directions,  and,, 
at  the  same  time,  to  avoid  the  stiffness  of  scholastic  rule.  Experi- 
ence will  soon  render  the  application  of  rules  easy  ;  and  to  the  cor- 
rectness which  the  study  of  rules  may  impart,  will  add  a  happy 
adaptation  to  the  characters  and  circumstances  of  men.  For  this 
adaptation,  as  for  true  eloquence,  '  labor  and  learning  may  toil,  but 
they  will  toil  in  vain.  They  cannot  compass  it.  It  must  exist  in 
the  man ;'  and  it  can  be  cherished  and  perfected  only  by  his  com- 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE.  r 

ing  into  contact  with  his  fellow-men.  He  must  be  a  slow  learner 
indeed  who  does  not  soon  discover,  that  one  of  the  most  important 
rules  for  preparing  profitable  sermons  in  the  actual  state  of  a  minis- 
ter's people  is,  not  to  be  so  fettered  by  any  rules  respecting  the 
choice  of  a  subject  or  text,  or  respecting  the  manner  of  discussion, 
as  to  be  prevented  from  embracing  a  favorable  opportunity  for 
impressing  religious  truth.  A  correct  acquaintance  with  the  Scrip- 
tures, a  mind  deeply  imbued  with  their  sentiments,  good  common 
sense,  an  affectionate  solicitude  for  the  salvation  of  men,  an  abid- 
ing sense  of  responsibility  to  God,  are  the  grand  requisites  for  use- 
ful preaching.  And  did  a  man  possessing  these,  never  read  For- 
dyce,  Claude,  or  Campbell,  he  still  might  become  a  highly  valuable 
minister  of  the  gospel.  But  of  the  utility  of  some  helps  in  this  part 
of  the  minister's  duty,  who  can  doubt  ?  That  helps  have  been 
sought  to  an  extreme,  is  painfully  evident  from  the  fact  that  such 
books  as  Simeon's  Skeletons  and  Hannam's  Pulpit  Assistant, 
have  found  purchasers.  The  other  extreme  would  be,  for  an  un- 
practised man  to  neglect  all  helps.  A  suitable  medium  is  furnished 
by  Dr.  Campbell,  whose  directions  proceed  from  a  correct  view  of 
human  nature,  and  are  adapted  to  call  forth  and  sharpen  the  mental 
powers  of  the  preacher. 

In  preparing  this  edition,  my  aim  has  been  to  make  the  work 
more  fitted  to  students  in  this  country,  and  more  profitable  to  those 
whose  studies  have  not  extended  beyond  their  own  language.  In 
former  editions,  sentences  occur  in  the  Latin  language  without  a 
translation.  These  are  now  made  intelligible  to  the  mere  English 
reader.  The  last  paragraph  of  the  Introductory  Discourse  has  been 
omitted,  as  it  only  contained  the  author's  reasons  for  not  writing 
his  Lectures  in  Latin.  In  the  third  and  fourth  of  the  Lectures  on 
Pulpit  Eloquence,  as  published  in  former  editions,  are.  remarks  spe- 
cially adapted  to  natives  of  Scotland  ;  in  these  two  Lectures  six 
sentences  have  been  omitted  as  not  applicable  in  this  country,  and 
four  others  have  been  modified  so  as  to  retain  what  would  be  uni- 
versally applicable.  In  the  same  Lectures,  for  the  word  elocution 
the  word  expression  has  been  substituted,  a  word  used  by  Dr.  Camp- 
bell as  conveying  essentially  the  same  idea  as  he  intended  to  convey 
by  the  word  elocution.  But  as  the  word  elocution  has  now  an  en- 
tirely different  meaning,  no  doubt  were  Dr.  Campbell  living,  he 
himself  would  employ  a  different  word.  The  reader  who  is  accus- 
tomed to  Dr.  Campbell's  style,  will  also  perceive  that  the  pronoun 
I 


VI  EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 

you,  for  the  nominative  plural,  has  been  substituted  for  the  anti- 
quated ye.  A  ^QW  other  peculiarities  of  Dr.  Campbell  which  occur 
in  this  work,  it  was  not  thought  expedient  to  alter. 

The  excellence  of  Fenelon's  Dialogues  concerning  Eloquence, 
their  general  agreement  with  the  sentiments  of  Dr.  Campbell's 
Lectures,  and  their  more  aniple  discussion  of  certain  topics  con- 
nected with  preaching,  render  their  insertion  in  this  volume  quite 
appropriate.  These  Dialogues  Dr.  Doddridge  has  called  *  incom- 
parable dialogues  on  eloquence  ;  which,'  he  remarks,  *  may  God 
put  it  into  the  hearts  of  our  preachers  often  and  attentively  to  read.' 

It  will  be  perceived  that  the  copious  Greek  and  Latin  notes  intro- 
duced by  Fenelon  are  not  translated.  The  reasons  for  not  trans- 
lating them  are  simply  these.  The  reader  who  is  acquainted  with 
merely  the  English  language,  is  not  embarrassed  by  them,  and  does 
not,  in  consequence  of  them,  lose  any  of  the  author's  thoughts. 
The  classical  reader  will  also  perceive,  that  the  notes,  for  the  most 
part,  express  the  same  ideas  as  are  expressed  in  the  text,  and  seem 
intended  by  Fenelon  as  confirmations  of  his  sentiments,  derived 
from  the  distinguished  writers  of  antiquity ;  or  rather,  as  proofs 
that  he  drew  his  notions  of  eloquence  from  the  great  masters  of 
oratory. 

H.  J.  RIPLEY. 

Newton  Theological  Institution, 
February,  1832. 


£»?'-;■'.  ■ 


ADVERTISEMENT 


TO    THE    FIRST    EDITION 


The  favourable  reception  of  the  Lectures  on  Ecclesiastical  His- 
tory, and  the  desire  of  many  to  have  an  opportunity  of  perusing 
Dr.  Campbell's  prelections  on  the  other  branches  of  his  theological 
courses,  have  led  to  the  publication  of  the  following  work.  The 
Lectures  on  Ecclesiastical  History  the  author  had  prepared  for  the 
press,  having  carefully  transcribed  and  corrected  them.  The  pre- 
lections now  published  were  composed  for  the  benefit  of  the  stu- 
dents of  divinity  in  Marischal  College,  without  any  view  to  publica- 
tion. They  were  first  delivered  in  the  years  1772  and  1773,  and 
the  author  continued,  during  his  professorship,  to  read  them  to  the 
students,  as  they  had  been  at  first  composed.  Indeed,  they  were 
written  so  closely  as  to  admit  very  little  addition  or  alteration. 

But  though  they  want  the  benefit  of  the  author's  corrections, 
the  language,  it  is  presumed,  will  not  be  found  very  deficient  in 
that  of  perspicuity,  precision  and  accuracy,  which  distinguished  Dr. 
Campbell  as  a  writer.  His  other  acknowledged  qualities  as  an 
author,  the  judicious  and  attentive  reader  will  not  be  at  a  loss  to 
discern.  He  will  discover  in  this  volume  great  ingenuity  with 
no  affectation  of  singularity,  freedom  and  impartiality  of  spirit 


8  ADVERTISEMENT. 

without  any  propensity  to  fabricate  new  theories,  acuteness  of  un- 
derstanding without  precipitancy  or  impatience  in  judging  ;  en- 
dowments perhaps  rare,  but  of  the  first  importance  in  theological 
discussions. 

To  students  of  theology  these  discourses  will  be  highly  useful. 
They  are  more  of  a  practical  nature,  than  his  lectures  formerly 
published,  and  they  abound  in  valuable  counsels  and  remarks.  From 
this  volume  and  from  the  author's  work  on  the  Gospels,  the  student 
will  learn,  both  by  precept  and  example,  how  his  industry  and  in- 
genuity may  be  most  profitably  employed. 

The  greater  part  of  the  abstract  theological  questions,  which 
have  afforded  matter  of  inexhaustible  contention,  and  the  pre- 
carious speculations  of  some  of  our  late  intrepid  theorists  in  reli- 
gion, Dr.  Campbell  regarded  as  worse  than  unprofitable.  In  these 
theorists  he  observed  a  fundamental  mistake,  in  regard  to  the 
proper  province  of  the  reasoning  faculty.  Impatience  in  judging, 
he  thought,  was  another  great  source  of  the  evil  alluded  to. 
*'  Some  people,"  he  remarks  in  his  last  preliminary  dissertation 
to  his  work  on  the  Gospels,  "  have  so  strong  a  propensity  to  form 
fixed  opinions  on  every  subject  to  which  they  turn  their  thoughts, 
that  their  mind  will  brook  no  delay.  They  cannot  bear  to 
doubt  or  hesitate.  Suspense  in  judging  is  to  them  more  in- 
sufferable, than  the  manifest  hazard  of  judging  wrong."  He 
adds  a  little  after,  "  In  questions,  which  have  appeared  to  me, 
either  unimportant,  or  of  very  dubious  solution,  I  have  thought 
it  better  to  be  silent,  than  to  amuse  the  reader,  with  those  remarks 
in  which  I  have  myself  found  no  satisfaction."  Never  could  teach- 
er, with  a  better  grace,  recommend  a  patient  cautiousness  in  judg- 
ing. His  premises,  which  are  often  of  greater  importance  than  a 
euperficial  reader  is  aware  of,  are  commonly  sure  ;  the  proper  and 
obvious  inferences  he  often  leaves  to  the  reader  to  deduce.  The 
conclusions,  which  the  author  draws,  are  so  well  limited,  and  ex- 
pressed  in  terms  so  precise,  and  so  remote  from  the  ostentatious 


ADVERTISEMENT.  9 

and  dogmatical  manner,  that  the  attentive  reader  is  inclined  to 
think,  that  he  sometimes  achieves  more  than  he  had  led  us  to 
expect. 

On  questions  that  have  been  rendered  intricate  by  using  scrip- 
tural terms  in  a  sense  merely  modern,  and  of  such  questions  the 
number  is  not  small.  Dr.  Campbell's  clearness  of  apprehension, 
critical  acuteness  and  patience  of  research,  have  enabled  him  to 
throw  a  good  deal  of  light.  The  Lectures  on  Ecclesiastical 
History  afford  some  striking  examples  of  his  success  in  this  way. 
And  his  work  on  the  Gospels  abounds  in  illustrations  of  scripture, 
that  may  be  of  great  utility  in  reforming  our  style  in  sacred  mat- 
ters, and  in  shortening,  if  not  deciding,  many  theological  ques- 
tions. Some  good  judges  have  no  hesitation  in  saying,  that  they 
never  saw  the  scripture  terms  heresy  and  schism,  well  explained, 
till  they  read  Dr.  Campbell's  Preliminary  Dissertations.  Former 
writers  had  been  so  far  misled  by  the  common  and  modern  ac- 
ceptation of  the  terms,  as  to  include  error  in  doctrine  as  essential 
to  the  notion  of  heresy,  and  to  make  a  separation  from  commu- 
nion in  religious  offices  the  distinguishing  badge  of  schism.  The 
primitive  and  genuine  import  of  the  words  is  so  clearly  ascertain- 
•ed  by  the  author,  that  if  a  person  unacquainted  with  the  ecclesi- 
astical and  comparatively  modern  language  were  to  read  the  dis- 
sertation, he  would  wonder,  that  there  should  ever  have  been 
any  difficulty  or  difference  of  opinion  on  the  question.  This  is 
only  one  instance  out  of  many  that  might  be  produced  from  the 
same  work,  in  which  the  reader  will  find  the  obscurity,  wherein  a 
subject  was  formerly  involved,  vanish  entirely,  and  the  genuine 
conceptions  of  the  most  venerable  antiquity  unfolded  to  his  view. 
When  that  great  work  is  understood  and  studied  with  the  atten- 
tion it  merits,  may  it  not  be  expected  to  have  considerable  influ- 
ence, in  leading  men  to  look  for  the  good  old  paths,  that  may  have 
been  long  untrodden,  and  known  but  to  few  ? 

In  the  preface  to  the  work  above  quoted,  speaking  of  expositors 
of  Scripture,  the  author  has  the  following  remark,     "  If  I  can  safely 


10  ADVERTISEMENT. 

reason  from  experience,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say,  that  the  least  dog- 
matical, the  most  diffident  of  their  own  judgment,  and  moderate  in 
their  opinion  of  others,  will  be  ever  found  the  most  judicious."  To 
judge  by  this  criterion,  few  authors  have  a  better  claim  to  our  con- 
fidence than  Dr.  Campbell.  Few  have  seen  the  right  track  so 
clearly,  and  few  have  advanced  in  it  with  a  firmer  step. 


CONTENTS 


INTRODUCTORY  DISCOURSE. 
Of  the  Science  of  Theology,  and  its  several  Branches,    ....     13 

OF  SYSTEMATIC  THEOLOGY. 

LECTURE    I. 

Of  the  Study  of  Natural  Religion,  and  of  the  Evidences  of 
Christianity, 23 

liECTURE    II. 

Of  the  Christian  System— the  Scriptures  ought  to  be  the  first 
Study — afterwards  Systems  and  Commentaries  may  be  occa- 
sionally consulted — bad  Consequences  of  beginning  the  Study 
of  Theology  with  Systems  and  Commentaries, 33 

LECTURE    III. 

How  the  Student  ought  to  set  about  the  Examination  of  the 
Scriptures — Directions  for  forming  an  Abstract  of  the  Doctrine 
of  Holy  Writ, 42 

LECTURE    IV. 

Directions  for  forming  a  System  of  Christian  Morality.  Ad- 
vantages of  the  Method  recommended, 56 

LECTURE    V. 

Subject  continued.  The  Knowledge  of  the  Scriptures  the  most 
essential  Part  of  the  Study.  How  far  the  Study  of  Controversy 
demands  our  Attention, 68 

LECTURE    VI- 

Method  of  prosecuting  our  Inquiries  in  Polemic  Divinity — The 
Use  to  be  made  of  Scholia,  Paraphrases,  and  Commentaries — 
Danger  of  relying  on  Human  Guidance  in  matters  of  Religion,    80 

ON  PULPIT  ELOQUENCE. 

LECTURE    I. 

Importance  of  the  Study,  and  Objections  against  it  answered — 
Helps  for  the  Attainment  of  the  Art, 93 


12  CONTENTS. 

LECTURE    II. 

Of  the  Sentiment  in  Pulpit  Discourses,     .     .     • 100 

LECTURE    III. 

Ofthe  Expression,    • 108 

LECTURE    IV. 

Of  Pronunciation, • 118 

LECTURE    V. 

Discourses  distributed  into  various  Kinds,  as  addressed  to  the 
Understanding,  the  Imagination,  the  Passions,  and  the  Will,    .    129 

LECTURE    VI. 

Of  the  Composition  of  Lectures, 139 

LECTURE    VII. 

Of  explanatory  Sermons — The  Choice  of  a  Subject  and  of  Texts,   149 

LECTURE    VIII. 

Of  explanatory  Sermons — the  Introduction — Exposition  of  the 
Text — Partition  of  the  subject.  Unity  a  principal  Requisite 
in  the  Subject — how  this  is  to  be  preserved — Offences  against 
Unity,        159 

LECTURE    IX. 

Of  explanatory  Sermons — how  the  Branches  should  be  arranged 
and  treated — ofthe  Style — technical  Language  to  be  avoided 
and  that  of  Scripture  preferred — Abuse  of  Scripturp  style — of 
the  Conclusion, 170 

LECTURE    X. 

Of  controversial  Discourses — Candour  and  Simplicity  ever  to 
be  studied  in  the  defence  of  truth, 178 

LECTURE    XI. 

Of  commendatory  Discourses,  or  those  addressed  to  the  Im- 
agination,           ■    .    .     188 

LECTURE    XII. 

Of  pathetic  Discourses,  or  those  addressed  to  the  Passions. 
Of  persuasive  Discourses,  or  such  as  are  intended  to  operate 
on  the  Will • 197 


LECTURES 


INTRODUCTORY   DISCOURSE. 

Of  the  Science  of  Theology,  and  its  several  Branches. 

That  we  may  discover  what  is  necessary  for  the  acquisition  of 
any  science,  we  ought  to  consider  attentively  the  end  for  which  it 
is  made  the  object  of  our  pursuit.  If  the  ultimate  end  be  knowl- 
edge, or  that  entertainment  which  the  mind  derives  from  the  per- 
ception of  truth,  the  properest  plan  of  teaching  must  be  very  differ- 
ent from  that  which  ought  to  be  adopted,  when  the  end  is  practice. 
And  as  this  last  admits  a  subdivision  (for  there  may  be  practical 
ends  of  very  different  sorts)  the  method  best  adapted  to  one  sort 
may  not  be  the  best  adapted  to  another. 

I  explain  myself  by  an  example,  which,  comes  directly  to  the 
point  in  hand.  'I  he  Christian  theology  may  be  studied,  first,  like 
any  other  branch  of  liberal  education,  in  order  to  gratify  a  laudable 
curiosity  ;  or,  secondly,  to  qualify  us  for  acting  the  part  of  Chris- 
tians, by  practising  the  duties  of  the  Christian  life  ;  or,  lastly,  to 
qualify  us  for  discharging  the  office  of  Christian  pastors.  It  is  man- 
ifest, that  if,  for  answering  properly  the  first  of  these  purposes,  a 
good  deal  more  is  requisite,  than  would  suffice  for  attaining  the- 
second,  yet  much  less  is  necessary  for  the  accomplishment  of  both 
these  ends,  than  for  answering  the  third.  With  regard  to  the  first, 
which  terminates  in  the  acquisition  of  knowledge,  theology  is  now 
very  rarely,  if  ever,  in  this  country,  studied,  like  other  sciences, 
purely  for  its  own  sake,  as  a  part  of  genteel  education,  which,  (ab- 
stracting from  its  utility)  is  both  ornamental  and  entertaining. 


14  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

Why  it  is  not,  though  we  may  trace  the  causes,  no  good  reason 
that  I  know  of  can  be  assigned.  And  with  regard  to  the  second 
view  of  teaching,  namely  to  promote  the  practice  of  the  duties  of 
Christian  life,  every  minister  of  a  parish  is  thus  far  a  professor  of 
divinity,  and  every  parishioner  is,  or  ought  to  be,  thus  far  a  student. 
It  is,  1  may  say,  solely  for  the  third  purpose,  the  most  comprehen- 
sive of  all,  to  fit  us  for  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  the  pastoral  of- 
fice, that  theological  schools  with  us  have  been  erected.  I  say  this 
end  is  the  most  comprehensive  of  all.  The  least  of  what  is  required 
in  the  Christian  pastor,  is,  that  he  may  be  qualified  for  discharging 
the  several  duties  of  the  Christian  life ;  for  in  these  he  ought  to  be 
an  ensample  to  the  flock.  Further,  whatever,  in  respect  of  knowl- 
edge, supplies  the  materials  necessary  for  edifying,  comforting,  and 
protecting  from  all  spiritual  danger  the  people  that  may  be  com- 
mitted to  his  charge,  or  is  of  use  for  defending  the  cause  of  hi& 
Master,  must  evidently  be  a  proper  study  for  the  man  who  intends 
to  enter  into  the  holy  ministry.  Again,  whatever  may  enable  him 
to  make  a  proper  application  of  those  acquisitions  in  knowledge,  so 
as  to  turn  them  to  the  best  account  for  the  benefit  of  his  people,,  is 
not  less  requisite.  To  little  purpose  will  it  be  for  him  to  be  possessed 
of  the  best  materials,  if  be  have  not  acquired  the  skill  to  use  them. 
The  former  we  may  call  the  theory  of  the  profession;  the  latter  the 
practice.  That  both  are  necessary  is  manifest.  The  first  without 
the  second,  however  considerable,  may  be  compared  to  wealth  with- 
out economy.  It  will  not  be  found  near  so  beneficial  to  the  owner, 
and  those  who  depend  on  him  for  iheir  support,  as  a  more  scanty  store 
would  be,  where  this  virtue  is  understood  and  practised  in  perfec- 
tion. Nor  will  the  second  do  entirely  without  the  first ;  for  the 
best  economy  in  the  world  can  be  of  no  value,  where  there  is  no 
subject  to  be  exercised  upon.  Hence  arises  a  two-fold  division  of 
what  is  proper  to  be  taught  to  all  who  have  made  choice  of  this 
profession,  a  division  which  merits  your  particular  attention.  The 
first  regards  purely  the  science  of  theology,  the  second  the  appli- 
cation of  that  science  to  the  purposes  of  the  Christian  pastor. 

Under  what  concerns  the  science,  I  would  comprehend  all  that 
knowledge  in  relation  to  our  holy  religion,  which  serves  immedi- 
ately to  illustrate,  to  confirm,  or  to  recommend  it.  I  say,  immedi- 
ately ^  because  there  are  several  acquisitions  in  literature  which  the 
Christian  divine  ought  previously  to  have  made,  and  which  are  not 
only  important,  but  even  necessary  in  the  way  of  preparation, 
though  the  connection  of  some  of  them  with  the  Christian  theology 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  15 

may,  upon  a  superficial  view,  appear  remote.  Such  are  the  Latin 
tongue,  moral  philosophy,  pneumatology,  natural  theology,  and  even 
history,  both  ancient  and  modern,  but  especially  the  former.  But 
though  several  branches  of  knowledge  may  contribute  less  or  more 
to  all  the  different  purposes  of  illustratin^r,  confirming  and  recom- 
mending religion,  it  is  evident  that  some  studies  are  more  directly 
adapted  to  one  of  these  purposes,  and  others  to  another. 

Let  us  begin  with  the  illustration  of  our  religion.  It  is  proper 
to  acquire  a  right  apprehension  of  the  subject,  before  w^e  consider 
either  its  evidence,  or  what  may  serve  to  recommend  it.  The 
knowledge  of  the  Christian  theology,  in  the  strictest  sense  of  the 
word,  is  no  doubt  principally  to  be  sought  for  in  the  books  of  the 
New  Testament.  It  was  for  the  publication  of  this  religion  through- 
out the  world,  that  these  books  were  originally  written.  They 
contain  the  doctrine  which  first  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  himself, 
afterwards  his  apostles  in  his  name,  by  their  preaching,  promul- 
gated to  mankind.  As  those  great  events,  which  make  the  subject, 
and  serve  as  a  foundation  to  the  whole,  were  not  accomplished  till 
the  ascension  of  our  Lord,  Christianity  as  a  religious  institution, 
authoritatively  given  by  the  Almighty  to  the  human  race,  may  be 
considered  as  commencing  from  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost  on 
the  Apostles  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  as  recorded  in  the  second 
chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 

I  said,  that  the  knowledge  of  our  religion  was  principally  to  be 
learnt  from  the  books  of  the  New  Testament,  but  neither  entirely 
nor  solely  from  these  books.  In  these,  there  are  frequent  refer- 
ences to  the  doctrines  contained,  the  precepts  given,  and  the  facts 
recorded,  in  other  books  of  an  older  date,  as  comprising  also  a  di- 
vine revelation  supposed  to  be  already  known,  and  therefore  not 
always  quoted,  when  referred  to,  so  as  to  be  engrossed  in  the  writ- 
ings of  the  disciples  of  our  Lord.  These  are  the  books  of  the  Old 
Testament.  Though  both  are  of  divine  authority,  and  though  each 
is  eminently  useful  to  the  right  understanding  of  the  other,  there  is 
this  difference  in  the  reception  due  to  them  from  Christians.  The 
import  of  the  declarations  and  the  obligation  of  the  precepts  in  the 
scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament  are  more  properly  to  be  interpreted 
and  limited  by  those  of  the  New,  than  the  declarations  and  precepts 
of  the  scriptures  of  the  New  Testament  can  be  by  those  of  the  Old. 
The  reason  is  obvious.  The  Mosaic  dispensation  was  introductory 
and  subordinate  to  the  Christian,  to  which  it  pointed,  and  in  which  it 
had  its  consummation.     It  was  no  other  than  the  dawn  of  that  light. 


16  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

which  by  the  coming  of  Jesus  Christ  has  arisen  on  the  nations  in 
all  its  glory.  Things  necessarily  obscure  in  the  former  are  cleared 
up  by  the  latter.  From  this  also  we  learn  to  distinguish  things  of 
temporary,  from  things  of  perpetual  obligation.  Tt  happens  in  sev- 
eral instances,  that  what  was  incumbent  under  the  weakness  of  the 
first  economy,  is  superseded  by  the  perfection  of  the  last. 

Now  for  attaining  a  more  perfect  knowledge  of  the  scriptures, 
none  will  question  the  utility  of  studying  carefully  those  languages 
in  which  they  were  originally  composed.  These  are  especially  the 
Hebrew  and  the  Greek.  I  say  especially^  because  a  small  part  of 
the  Old  Testament  is  written  in  the  Chaldee,  which  ought  rather 
perhaps  to  be  considered  as  a  sister  dialect  of  the  Hebrew,  than  as 
a  different  tongue. 

The  books  of  the  Old  Testament  are  the  only  books  extant, 
which  are  written  in  the  genuine  ancient  Hebrew.  And  though 
the  writings  of  the  New  Testament  make,  in  respect  to  size,  but 
an  inconsiderable  part  of  what  is  written  in  Greek,  their  style,  or 
rather  idiom,  has  something  in  it  so  peculiar,  that  neither  the 
knowledge  of  the  elements  of  the  language,  nor  an  acquaintance 
with  the  Greek  classics,  will  always  be  sufficient  to  remove  the  dif- 
ficulties that  may  occur,  and  to  lead  us  to  the  right  understanding 
of  the  sacred  text.  To  this  the  knowledge  of  the  Hebrew  will  be 
found  greatly  subservient :  for  as  the  penmen  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment were  of  the  Jewish  nation,  and  had  early  been  accustomed  to 
the  manner  and  phraseology  of  the  Septuagint,  a  literal  version  of 
the  Old  Testament  into  Greek  ;  there  is  a  peculiarity  in  their 
idiom,  to  be  master  of  which  requires  an  intimate  acquaintance 
with  that  people's  manner  of  thinking  (and  in  this  every  people  has 
something  peculiar)  as  well  as  a  critical  attention  to  their  turn  of 
expression,  both  in  their  native  tongue,  and  in  that  most  ancient 
translation.  Leaving  therefore  the  rudiments  of  those  tongues,  as 
what  ought  to  be  studied  under  their  several  professors,  or  privately 
with  the  help  of  books,  I  shall  consider  what  may  be  necessary,  for 
begetting  and  improving  in  us  a  critical  discernment  in  both,  as 
far  as  holy  writ  is  concerned.  What  is  necessary  for  the  attain- 
ment of  this  end  I  shall  comprehend  under  the  name  of  biblical 
criticism.  This  I  consider  as  the  first  branch  of  the  theoretical 
part  of  the  study  of  theology,  and  as  particularly  calculated  for  the 
elucidation  of  our  religion,  by  leading  us  to  the  true  meaning  of 
the  sacred  volume,  its  acknowledged  source. 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  17 

Again,  the  Christian  revelation  comprising  a  most  important  nar- 
rative of  a  series  of  events,  relating  to  the  creation,  the  fail,  the  re- 
covery, and  the  eternal  state  of  man  ;  and  the  three  first  of  these 
including  a  period  of  some  thousands  of  years  now  elapsed,  andbe^ 
ing  intimately  connected  with  the  history  of  a  particular  nation, 
during  a  great  part  of  that  time  ;  the  knowledge  of  the  polity,  laws, 
customs,  and  memorable  transactions  of  that  nation,  must  be  of 
considerable  consequence  to  the  theological  student,  both  for  the 
illustration  and  for  the  confirmation  of  the  sacred  books.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  will  not  be  of  less  consequence  for  the  confirmation 
of  our  religion,  and  the  recommendation  of  this  study,  by  render- 
ing our  knowledge  in  divinity  more  extensively  useful,  that  we  be 
acquainted  also  with  those  events,  which  the  propagation  and  estab- 
lishment of  Christianity  have  given  rise  to,  from  its  first  publication 
by  the  apostles,  to  the  present  time.  The  whole  of  this  branch  we 
may  denominate  sacred  history ^  which  naturally  divides  itself  into 
two  parts,  the  Jewish  and  the  ecclesiastical,  or  that  which  preced- 
ed, and  that  which  has  followed,  the  commencement  of  the  gospel 
dispensation. 

Further,  as  the  great  truths  and  precepts  of  our  religion  are  not 
arranged  methodically  in  sacred  writ,  in  the  form  of  an  art  or  sci- 
ence, but  are  disclosed  gradually,  as  it  suited  the  ends  of  Provi- 
dence, and  pleased  the  Divine  Wisdom  to  reveal  them,  and  as  some 
of  the  truths  are  explained  and  the  duties  recommended  in  some  re- 
spect incidentally,  as  time  and  circumstances  have  given  the  occa- 
sion, it  is  of  consequence  that  the  theological  student  should  have 
it  in  his  power  to  contemplate  them  in  their  natural  connexion,  and 
thus  be  enabled  to  perceive  both  the  mutual  dependence  of  the 
parts  and  the  symmetry  of  the  whole.  Arrangement,  every  one 
acknowledges,  is  a  very  considerable  help  both  to  the  understand- 
ing and  to  the  memory  ;  and  the  more  simple  and  natural  the  ar- 
rangement is,  the  greater  is  the  assistance  which  we  derive  from  it. 
There  are  indeed  few  arts  or  sciences  which  may  not  be  digested 
into  different  methods ;  and  each  method  may  have  advantages  pe- 
culiar to  itself;  yet  in  general  it  may  be  affirmed,  that  that  ar- 
rangement will  answer  best  upon  the  whole,  wherein  the  order  of 
nature  is  most  strictly  adhered  to,  and  wherein  nothing  is  taught 
previously,  which  presupposes  the  knowledge  of  what  is  to  be  ex- 
plained afterwards.  This  branch  of  study  I  call  the  Christian  sys- 
tem ;  and  it  is  commonly  considered  as  the  science  of  theology, 
strictly  so  called  ;  the  other  branches,  however  indispensable,  being 


18  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

more  properly  subservient  to   the  attainment  of  this,  than  this  can, 
with  any  propriety,  be  said  to  be  to  them. 

Nor  is  it  any  objection  either  against  holy  writ  on  the  one  hand, 
or  against  this  study  on  the  other,  that  there  is  no  such  digest  of 
the  doctrines  and  precepts  of  our  religion  exhibited  in  the  Bible. 
It  is  no  objection  against  holy  writ,  because  to  one  who  considers 
attentively  the  whole  plan  of  Providence  regarding  the  redemption 
and  final  restoration  of  man,  it  will  be  evident,  that  in  order  to  the 
perfecting  of  the  whole,  the  parts  must  have  been  unveiled  success- 
ively and  by  degrees,  as  the  scheme  advanced  towards  its  comple- 
tion. And  if  the  doctrines  to  be  believed  and  the  duties  to  be  prac- 
tised, are  delivered  there  with  sufficient  clearness,  we  have  no  rea- 
son to  complain ;  nor  is  it  for  us  to  prescribe  rules  to  Infinite  Wis- 
dom. On  the  other  hand,  it  is  no  objection  against  this  study,  or 
the  attempt  to  reduce  the  articles  of  our  religion  into  a  systematic 
form,  that  they  are  not  thus  methodically  digested  in  the  Bible.  Holy 
writ  is  given  us,  that  it  may  be  used  by  us  for  our  spiritual  instruc- 
tion and  improvement ;  reason  is  given  us  to  enable  us  to  make  the 
proper  use  of  both  the  temporal  and  the  spiritual  benefits  which 
God  hath  seen  meet  to  bestow.  The  conduct  of  the  beneficent 
Father  of  the  universe  is  entirely  analogous  in  both.  He  confers 
liberally  the  materials  or  means  of  enjoyment,  he  gives  the  capacity 
of  using  them,  at  the  same  time  he  requires  the  exertion  of  that  ca- 
pacity, that  so  the  advantages  he  has  bestowed  may  be  turned  by 
us  to  the  best  account.  We  are  then  at  liberty,  nay  it  is  our  duty, 
to  arrange  the  doctrine  of  holy  writ  in  such  a  way,  as  may  prove 
most  useful  in  assisting  us,  both  to  understand  and  to  retain  it. 

It  has  been  objected  more  plausibly  against  every  attempt  of  re- 
ducing the  principles  and  precepts  of  religion  to  an  order,  which 
may  be  called  merely  human  and  artificial,  that  it  has  but  too  plain 
a  tendency  to  stint  the  powers  of  the  mind,  biasing  it  in  favour  of 
a  particular  set  of  opinions,  infusing  prejudices  against  what  does 
not  perfectly  tally  with  a  system  perhaps  too  hastily  adopted,  and 
fomenting  a  spirit  of  dogmatism  whereby  we  are  led  to  pronounce 
positively  on  points  which  scripture  has  left  undecided,  or  to  which 
perhaps  our  faculties  are  not  adapted.  That  this  has  often  been  the 
consequence  on  the  mind  of  the  systematic  student,  is  a  lamentable 
truth,  which  experience  but  too  clearly  evinces.  On  inquiry,  how- 
ever, it  will  generally  be  found  to  have  arisen  not  so  much  from  the 
study  itself,  of  which  it  is  by  no  means  a  necessary  consequence, 
as  from  something  wrong  in  the  manner  of  conducting  it.     Let  us 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  19 

then,  like  wise  men,  guard  against  the  abuse  without  renouncing 
the  use,  that  is,  without  relinquishing  the  advantage  which  may  re- 
sult Irom  this  study  properly  pursued. 

And  the  more  effectually  to  guard  us  against  this  abuse,  let  us 
habitually  attend  to  the  three  following  important  considerations. 
First,  that  every  truth  contained  in  divine  revelation,  or  deducible 
from  it,  is  not  conveyed  with  equal  perspicuity,  nor  is  in  itself  of 
equal  importance.  There  are  some  things  so  often,  and  so  clearly 
laid  down  in  scripture,  that  hardly  any,  who  profess  the  belief  of 
revealed  religion,  pretend  to  question  them.  About  these,  there  is 
no  controversy  in  the  church.  Such  are  the  doctrines  of  the  unity, 
the  spirituality,  the  natural  and  moral  attributes  of  God,  the  creation, 
preservation  and  government  of  the  world  by  him ;  the  principal 
events  in  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  well  as  his  crucifixion,  re- 
surrection and  ascension,  the  doctrine  of  a  future  judgment,  heav- 
en and  hell,  together  with  all  those  moral  truths  which  exhibit  the 
great  outlines  of  our  duty  to  God,  our  neighbour  and  ourselves.  In 
general  it  will  be  found,  that  what  is  of  most  importance  to  us  to  be 
acquainted  with  and  believed,  is  oftenest  and  most  clearly  inculca- 
ted ;  and  that,  as  we  find,  there  are  degrees  in  belief  as  well  as  in 
evidence,  it  is  a  very  natural  and  just  conclusion,  that  our  belief  in 
those  points  is  most  rigorously  required,  which  are  notified  to  us  ia 
scripture,  with  the  clearest  evidence.  The  more  is  exacted  where 
much  is  given,  the  less,  where  little  is  given.  The  dogmatist  knows 
nothing  of  degrees,  either  in  evidence  or  in  faith.  He  has  prop- 
erly no  opinions  or  doubts.  Every  thing  with  him  is  either  certain- 
ly true,  or  certainly  false.  Of  this  turn  of  mind  I  shall  only  say, 
that  far  from  being  an  indication  of  vigour,  it  is  a  sure  indication  of 
debility  in  the  intellectual  powers. 

A  second  consideration  is,  that  many  questions  will  be  found  to 
have  been  agitated  among  theologians,  as  to  which  the  scriptures 
when  examined  with  impartiality,  cannot  be  said  to  have  given  a 
decision  on  either  side  ;  though,  were  we  to  judge  from  the  misrep- 
resentations of  the  controvertists  themselves,  we  should  be  led  to 
conclude,  that  contradictory  decisions  had  been  given,  which  equally 
favoured  both  sides.  It  has  not  been  duly  attended  to  by  any  party,, 
that  a  revelation  from  God  was  not  given  us,  to  make  us  subtle 
metaphysicians,  dexterous  at  solving  abstruse  and  knotty  questions,, 
but  to  make  us  good  men,  to  inform  us  of  our  duty,  and  to  supply 
us  with  the  most  plain  and  most  cogent  motives  to  a  due  observance 
of  it.     From  both  the  above  observations,  we  should  learn,  at  least. 


20  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

to  be  modest  in  our  conclusions,  and  not  over  dogmatical  or  deci- 
sive, in  regard  to  matters  which  may  be  justly  styled  of  doubtful 
disputation  or  of  deep  research. 

The  third  consideration  is,  never  to  think  ourselves  entitled, 
even  in  cases  which  we  may  imagine  very  clear,  to  form  uncharita- 
ble judgments  of  those  who  think  differently.  I  am  satisfied  that 
such  judgments  on  our  part  are  unwarrantable  in  every  case.  Of 
the  truth  of  any  tenet  said  to  be  revealed,  we  must  judge  according 
to  our  abilities,  before  we  can  believe ;  but  as  to  the  motives  by 
which  the  opinions  of  others  are  influenced,  or  of  their  state  in  God's 
account,  that  is  no  concern  of  ours.  Our  Lord  Jesus  alone  is  ap- 
pointed of  God  the  judge  of  all  men  ;  and  are  we  presumptuous 
enough  to  think  ourselves  equal  to  the  office,  and  to  anticipate  his 
sentence  ?  "  Who  art  thou  that  judgest  another  man's  servant  ? 
To  his  own  master  he  standeth  or  falleth."  When  Peter  obtruded 
upon  his  Master  a  question  of  mere  curiosity,  and  said  concerning 
his  fellow  disciple,  "  What  shall  become  of  this  man  ?"  he  was 
aptly  checked  by  his  Lord,  and  made  to  attend  to  what  nearly  con- 
cerned himself,  "  What  is  that  to  thee  ?  Follow  thou  me." 

Once  more.  It  has  been  the  fate  of  religion,  from  the  begin- 
ning, to  meet  with  contradiction.  Not  only  have  the  divinity  (and 
consequently  the  truth)  of  the  whole  been  controverted,  but  several 
important  articles  thereof  have  been  made  the  subject  of  disputation, 
and  explained  by  different  persons  and  parties  in  ways  contradicto- 
ry to  one  another  ;  therefore  that  the  student  may  be  enabled,  on 
this  momentous  subject,  to  distinguish  truth  from  error,  and  to  de- 
fend the  former  against  the  most  subtle  attacks  of  its  adversaries, 
the  patrons  of  the  latter ;  it  is  necessary  for  him  to  be  acquainted 
with  theological  controversy ,  which  is  the  fourth  and  last  branch 
of  the  theory  of  theology. 

I  would  not  be  understood  to  mean  by  this,  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  all  the  disputes  that  have  ever  arisen  in  the  church.  Such 
a  task  would  be  both  endless  and  unprofitable.  Of  many  of  these, 
it  is  sufficient  to  learn  from  church  history,  that  such  questions  have 
been  agitated,  and  what  have  been  the  consequences.  To  enter  fur- 
ther into  the  affair  will  be  found  a  great  waste  of  time  to  little  purpose. 
But  it  is  a  matter  of  considerable  consequence  to  us,  to  be  able  to 
defend  both  natural  and  revealed  religion  against  the  attacks  of  in- 
fidels, and  to  defend  its  fundamental  principles  against  those  who, 
though  in  general  they  agree  with  us  as  to  the  truth  of  Christianity, 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  21 

are  disposed  to  controvert  some  of  its  doctrines.  A  more  particu- 
lar acquaintance  therefore  witli  the  disputes  and  questions  in  theolo- 
gy of  the  age  and  country  wherein  we  live,  and  with  the  distinguish- 
ing tenets  of  the  different  sects,  with  which  we  are  surrounded,  is 
necessary  to  the  divine,  not  only  in  point  of  decency,  but  even  for 
self  defence. 

It  must  be  owned  at  the  same  time,  that  this  thorny  path  of  con- 
troversy is  the  most  unpleasant  in  all  the  walks  of  theology.  It  is 
not  unpleasant  only,  but  unless  trodden  with  great  circumspection, 
it  is  also  dangerous.  Passion,  it  has  been  justly  said,  begets  pas- 
sion, words  beget  woids.  It  is  extremely  difficult  to  preserve  mod- 
eration, when  one  is  opposed  with  bigotry  ;  or  evenness  of  temper, 
when  one  is  encountered  with  fury.  The  love  of  victory  is  but  too 
apt  to  supplant  in  our  breasts  the  love  of  knowledge,  and  in  the 
confusion,  dust  and  smoke,  raised  by  the  combatants,  both  sides 
often  lose  sight  of  truth.  These  considerations  are  not  mentioned 
to  deter  any  of  you  from  this  part  of  the  study,  but  to  excite  all  of 
you  to  come  to  it  properly  prepared,  candid,  circumspect,  modest, 
attentive,  and  cool.  It  has  been  truly  and  ingeniously  observed, 
that  the  ministers  of  religion  are  much  in  the  same  situation  with 
those  builders,  who,  in  rebuilding  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  whilst 
they  worked  with  one  hand,  were,  on  account  of  their  enemies  from 
whom  they  vi^ere  continually  in  danger,  obliged  to  hold  a  weapon 
with  the  other. 

Let  it  here  be  remarked,  that  these  two  last  branches,  the  Chris- 
tian system  and  polemic  divinity,  though  perfectly  distinct  in  their 
nature,  are  almost  universally  and  very  commodiously  joined  to- 
gether in  the  course  of  study.  The  consideration  of  every  separate 
article  of  religion  is  aptly  accompanied  with  the  consideration  of 
its  evidence  ;  and  the  consideration  of  its  evidence  necessarily  re- 
quires the  consideration  of  those  objections,  which  arise  from  a  dif- 
ferent representation  of  the  doctrine.  Thus  the  great  branches  of 
the  theoretic  part  of  this  profession,  though  properly  four  in  their 
nature,  are,  in  regard  to  the  manner  in  which  they  may  be  most 
conveniently  learnt,  justly  reducible  to  three,  namely,  Scripture 
Criticism,  Sacred  History,  and  Theological  Controversy.  These 
are  sufficient  to  complete  the  character  of  the  theologian,  as  the 
word  is  commonly  understood  ;  who  is  precisely  what  our  Lord  has 
denominated  "a  scribe  instructed  unto  the  kingdom  of  heaven,. 
3 


33  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

who  can,  like  a  "provident  householder,  bring  out  of  his  treasure, 
new  things  and  old." 

But  even  what  is  sufficient  to  constitute  an  able  divine,  is,  though 
a  most  essential  part,  yet  not  all  that  is  necessary  to  make  a  useful 
pastor.  The  furniture  has  been  pointed  out,  but  not  the  applica- 
tion. In  the  former,  we  may  say,  lies  the  knowledge  of  the  pro- 
fession, but  in  the  latter,  the  skill. 


OF  SYSTEMATIC  THEOLOGY. 


LECTURE  I. 

Of  the  Study  of  Natural  Religion,  and  of  the  Evidences  of  Christianity. 

AS  to  the  order  in  which  our  theological  inquiries  ought  to  be 
conducted,  it  may  not  be  improper  to  observe  here  in  the  entry, 
that  religion  hath  been  often  and  not  unaptly  divided  into  natural 
and  revealed.  The  former  of  these,  subdivides  itself  into  other  two 
parts,  namely,  what  concerns  the  nature  and  providence  of  God, 
and  what  concerns  the  duties  and  prospects  of  man.  The  first  of 
these  is  commonly  called  natural  theology;  the  second,  ethics; 
both  comprised  under  the  science  of  pncumatology ^  whereof  they 
are  indeed  the  most  sublime  and  most  important  parts  ;  and  which 
science  is  itself  a  branch  of  philosophy,  in  the  largest  acceptation 
of  the  word,  as  importing  the  interpretation  of  nature.  That  to  a 
certain  degree  the  knowledge  of  divine  attributes  and  of  human 
obligations  are  discoverable  by  the  light  of  nature,  scripture  itself 
always  presupposeth.  As  to  the  former,  **  the  heavens,"  we  are 
told,  "declare  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  firmament  sheweth  his 
handywork."  Again,  **  the  invisible  things  of  Him  from  the  crea- 
tion of  the  world,  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood  by  the  things 
that  are  made,  even  his  eternal  power  and  godhead."  Nay  our 
methods  of  arguing  on  this  subject  from  the  effect  to  the  cause, 
scripture  itself  disdains  not  to  adopt  and  authenticate.  "  He  that 
planted  the  ear,  shall  he  not  hear  1  He  that  formed  the  eye,  shall 
he  not  see  ?"  And  as'  to  the  latter,  the  duties  incumbent  on  men, 
our  Bible  in  like  manner  informs  us  that  "  when  the  Gentiles  who 
have  not  the  (written)  law  do  by  nature  the  things  contained  in  the 
law,  these  having  not  the  law,  are  a  law  to  themselves ;  who 
show  the  work  of  the  law  written  in  their  hearts,  their  conscience 
also  bearing  witness,  and  their  thoughts  meanwhile  accusing  or 


24  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

else  excusing  one  another."      Now  in  strictness  of  speech  neither 
natural  theology  nor  moral  philosophy,  nor   (which  is  also  some- 
times comprehended  under  the  same  general  name)  the  doctrines 
of  the  immateriality  and  natural  immortality  of  the  soul,  fall  within 
my  province,  as  a  teacher  of  Christian  theology^     They  are  in  fact 
preliminary  studies,  and  constitute  a  part  of  the  philosophic  course. 
It  is  however  necessary,  in  order  both  to  prevent  mistakes  and  to 
obviate  objections,  to  observe,  that  1  do  by  no  means  intend  to  insin- 
uate, that  these  studies  are  unconnected  with  the  Christian  system, 
and  therefore  unnecessary.     On  the  contrary,  I  think  them  of  the 
utmost  consequence.     As  it  is  the  same  God  (for  there  is  no  other) 
who  is  the  author  of  nature  and  the  author  of  revelation,  who  speaks 
to  us  in  the  one  by  his  works,  and  in  the  other  by  his  Spirit,  it  be- 
comes his  creatures  reverently  to  hearken  to  his  voice,  in  whatever 
manner  he  has  pleased  to  address  them.     Now  the  philosopher  is 
by  profession  the  interpreter  of  nature — that  is,  of  the  language  of 
God's  works,  as  the  Christian  divine  is  the  interpreter  of  scripture — 
that  is,  of  the  language  of  God's  Spirit.     Nor  do  I  mean  to  signify, 
that  there  is  not  in   many  things  a  coincidence  in  the  discoveries 
made  in  these  two  different  ways.      The  conclusions  rnay  be  the 
same,  though  deduced,  and  justly  deduced,  from  different  premises. 
The  result  may   be  one,  when  the  methods  of  investigation   are 
widely  different.     There  is  even  a  considerable  utility  in  pursuing 
both  methods,  as  what  is  clear  in  the  one,  may  serve  to  enlighten 
what  is  obscure  in  the  other.     And  both  have  their  difficulties  and 
their  obscurities.     The  most  profound  philosopher  will  be  the  most 
ready  to  acknowledge  that  there  are  phenomena  in  nature  for  which 
he  cannot  account;    and  that  divine,  you   may  depend  upon  it, 
whatever    be   his  attainments,  hath  more   arrogance  than   either 
knowledge  or  wisdom,  who  will  not  admit,  that  there  are  many  texts 
in  scripture  which  he  cannot  explain.    Nor  does  this  in  the  least  con- 
tradict the  protestant  doctrine  of  the  perspicuity  of  sacred  writ ;  for 
though  everything  which  proceeds  from  God,  it  must  be  of  conse- 
quence to  us  to  be  acquainted  with,  and  therefore  requires  diligent 
attention,  especially  from  the  minister  of  his  word,  yet  all  the  truths 
revealed  are  not  of  equal  consequence,  as  we  learn  from  scripture 
itself.     The  most  important  things  are  still  the  plainest,  and  set  in 
the  greatest  variety  of  lights.     Now  if  God  is  pleased  to  address  us 
in  two  different  languages,  neither  of  which  is  without  its  difficul- 
ties, we  may  find   considerable  assistance   in  comparing  both  for 
removing  the  difficulties  of  each.     But  though,  as  I  observed,  nat- 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  25 

ural  theology  and  ethics  are  strictly  the  province  of  the  philosopher, 
it  may  not  be  amiss,  to  suggest  in  a  few  words  concerning  the 
former,  that  the  use  of  reading  elaborate  demonstrations  of  the  be- 
ing and  perfections  of  God,  is  more  perhaps  to  fix  our  attention  on 
the  object,  than  to  give  conviction  to  the  understanding.  The  nat- 
ural evidences  of  true  theism  are  among  the  simplest,  and  at  the 
same  time  the  clearest  deductions  from  the  effect  to  the  cause. 
And  it  were  to  be  wished,  that  the  subject  had  not  been  rather 
perplexed,  than  facilitated,  by  the  abstruse  and  metaphysical  dis- 
cussions, in  which  it  hath  been  sometimes  involved. 

But  to  come  to  the  proper  department  of  the  Christian  divine, 
the  first  inquiry  that  occurs  on  this  subject,  is  concerning  the 
truth,  or,  which  in  the  present  case  is  precisely  the  same,  the  di- 
vinity of  our  religion.  The  grand  question,  to  adopt  the  scripture 
idiom,  is  no  other  than  this  :  Is  the  doctrine  which  Jesus  Christ 
preached  from  heaven,  or  of  men  1  That  it  is  from  heaven,  is  the 
avowed  belief  of  all  his  disciples;  that  it  is  of  men,  is,  on  the  con- 
trary, the  declared  opinion  of  Jews  and  pagans.  The  Mahome- 
tans, indeed,  acknowledge  its  divine  original ;  but  as  they  at  the 
same  time  maintain,  that  we  have  no  standard  of  that  religion  now 
existing,  the  scriptures  both  Jewish  and  Christian  being  totally 
corrupted,  in  their  account,  even  in  the  most  essential  matters,  we 
are  under  a  necessity  of  classing  them  also  with  the  infidels  of 
every  other  denomination.  Would  we  know  in  what  manner  the 
truth  of  our  religion  may  be  most  successfully  defended,  let  us  con- 
sider in  what  way  it  hath  been  most  strenuously  attacked.  Upon 
a  careful  examination  of  all  the  multifarious  assaults  that  have 
been  made  by  argument  against  the  Christian  institution  by  its  ad- 
versaries, they  are  almost  all  reducible  to  these  two  classes.  They 
are  either  attempts  against  the  character  of  the  institution  itself, 
and  are  produced  to  evince  that  it  is  unworthy  of  God,  and  unsuit- 
able to  those  original  sentiments  of  right  and  wrong  which  we  de- 
rive from  natural  conscience ;  or  they  are  levelled  against  the  pos- 
itive proofs  of  revelation,  and  propose  to  invalidate  its  evidence. 
In  the  first,  the  subject  may  be  said  to  be  considered  as  a  question 
oi  right ;  in  the  second,  as  a  question  of /ac^.  Accordingly,  objec- 
tions of  the  former  kind  are  properly  philosophical  \  of  the  latter, 
historical  and  critical. 

As  to  those  of  the  class  first  mentioned,  upon  the'  most  impartial 
examination  I  have  ever  been  able  to  make  of  them,  1  have  always 
found,  that  the  much   greater  part  proceeded    from  a  total  misap- 


26  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

prehension  of  the  subject.  The  spirit  of  the  church,  or  rather  of 
churchmen  of  the  hierarchy,  hath  been  mistaken  for  the  spirit 
of  the  gospel ,  and  the  absurd  glosses  of  corrupt  and  fallible  men 
have  been  confounded  with  the  pure  dictates  of  the  divine  oracles. 
To  the  candid  and  intelligent  inquirer,  there  will  appear  in  many 
of  the  boasted  arguments  produced  by  the  most  renowned  cham- 
pions in  the  deistical  controversy,  a  manifest  ignoratio  elenchi,  (that 
is,  misapprehension  of  the  subject,)  as  the  logicians  term  it.  And 
I  will  take  upon  me  to  say,  that  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the 
mind  of  the  Spirit  as  delivered  in  holy  writ,  in  its  native  simplicity 
and  beauty,  unadulterated  by  the  traditions  and  inventions  of  men, 
will  do.  more  to  dissipate  the  clouds  raised  by  such  objectors,  than 
whole  torrents  of  scholastic  chicane  and  sophistry.  And  even  in 
those  objections,  in  which  we  cannot  say  there  is  a  mistake  of 
the  subject,  we  shall  often  find  a  woful  mistake  of  the  natural 
powers  and  faculties  of  man.  Nor  do  I  know  a  better  method 
of  answering  cavils  of  this  nature,  than  that  which  has  been  so 
successfully  employed  by  Bishop  Butler  in  his  admirable  treatise 
entitled,  "  The  Analogy  of  Religion  natural  and  revealed  to 
the  Constitution  and  Course  of  Nature."  Now  as  a  great  many 
of  the  arguments  of  our  sceptics  and  unbelievers  are  aimed 
against  the  genius  and  character  of  our  religion,  so  on  the  other 
hand  it  is  proper  to  observe,  that  to  some  persons  of  the  most  acute 
discernment  and  most  delicate  sensibility,  there  has  appeared  in 
this  same  subject,  the  character  of  religion,  an  intrinsic  but  irresis- 
tible evidence  of  its  divinity.  The  spirit  it  breathes,  the  doctrines 
it  teaches,  the  morals  it  inculcates,  when  candidly  examined  in  the 
fountain,  the  New  Testament,  and  not  in  the  corrupted  streams  of 
human  comments  and  systems,  have  an  energy  which  no  feeling 
heart  can  withstand,  and  which  seems  not  to  have  been  withstood 
by  some  who  have  even  dared  to  combat  all  its  other  evidences. 
Of  this  the  late  Rousseau  is  an  eminent  example. 

As  to  the  second  class  of  objections,  which  are  levelled  against 
the  external  proofs  of  revelation,  they  differ  according  to  the  dif- 
ferent branches  of  evidence  against  which  they  are  aimed.  The 
two  principal  branches  of  external  evidence,  by  which  the  Chris- 
tian doctrine  is  recommended  to  our  faith,  are  prophecy  and  mira- 
cles. The  latter  of  these  were  strongly  urged  by  the  apostles  for 
the  conviction  of  the  Gentiles;  both  were  insisted  on  in  their  rea- 
sonings with  the  Jews.  The  pagans  knew  nothing  of  those  books 
in  which  the   prophecies  were   contained,  and  consequently  argu- 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  27 

ments  drawn  from  these  would  have  been  unintelligible  to  them. 
Now  as  the  miracles  which  were  wrought  in  support  of  our  religion, 
with  us  stand  on  the  evidence  of  testimony  conveyed  in  history,  and 
as  the  fulfilment  of  most  of  the  prophecies  urged  in  support  of  the 
same  cause,  are  vouched  to  us  in  the  same  manner,  the  argument 
with  regard  to  miracles  is  entirely,  and  with  regard  to  prophecy  is 
in  a  great  measure  of  the  historical  kind.  I  say  with  regard  to  pro- 
phecy it  is  only  in  a  great  measure  historical.  My  reason  for  mak- 
ing the  distinction  is  plainly  this.  The  prophetic  style  hath  some- 
thing peculiar  in  it.  It  is  both  more  figurative,  and  more  obscure, 
than  that  of  simple  narration.  Whereas  therefore  with  regard  to 
the  performance  of  such  a  miracle,  there  can  be  only  one  question, 
and  a  mere  question  of  fact,  with  regard  to  the  accomplishment  of 
such  a  prophecy,  thete  naturally  arise  two  questions.  First,  is  the 
meaning  of  the  prophecy  such  as  hath  been  assigned  to  it  ?  This 
is  a  question  of  criticism ;  secondly.  Was  the  event,  by  which  it  is 
said  to  be  accomplished,  such  as  is  alleged  ?  This  again  is  a  ques- 
tion of  fact.  Before  I  dismiss  this  topic  of  the  different  ways 
wherein  the  truth  of  revelation  has  been  assailed  by  its  adversaries, 
it  is  necessary  to  take  notice  of  an  intermediate  method,  by  which 
indeed  the  external  proofs  are  struck  at,  but  in  a  different  manner. 
It  is  not  the  reality  of  individual  facts  alleged,  namely  miracles  and 
prophecies,  but  the  possibility  of  the  kind,  as  being  supernatural, 
which  is  made  the  question.  Again,  the  fitness  of  these,  though 
admitted  true,  to  serve  as  evidence  of  doctrine,  hath  been  also 
questioned.  Both  these  inquiries  are  of  the  philosophic  kind. 
Their  solution  depends  on  a  just  apprehension  of  the  nature  of 
evidence. 

Would  I,  now,  that  you  should  be  particularly  acquainted  with 
all  the  trite  and  all  the  novel  topics,  that  have  been,  or  are  insisted 
on  by  the  enemies  of  our  religion,  and  that  you  should  read  and 
remember  exactly  all  the  most  approved  answers  that  have  been 
made  by  its  defenders  ;  I  should  in  that  case  be  under  a  necessity 
of  assigning  you  a  very  frightful  task,  sending  you  to  consult  an 
innumerable  multitude  of  volumes,  written  on  both  sides  of  the 
question.  And  should  any  of  you  happen  to  be  blest  with  a  tena- 
cious memory,  he  might  in  this  way  at  very  little  expense  of  judg- 
ment, be  qualified  for  encountering  any  ordinary  caviller  he  might 
meet  with.  But  in  truth,  the  task  is,  in  my  opinion,  especially  for 
a  novice  in  theology,  both  too  laborious  and  unpleasant,  and  by  no 
means  sufficiently  profitable,  to  recompense  the  time  and  pains  that 


38  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

would  be  bestowed  upon  it.     And  though  I  think  that  such  contro- 
versial pieces  may   be   perused  occasionally   as  they  fall  in  one's 
way,  I  would   by  no  means  recommend  a  regular  prosecution  of 
this  study  ;     a  method  which  would  tend  only  to  form  a  habit  of 
turning  everything  into  matter  of  wrangling  and  logomachy,  those 
noxious  weeds,  those  briars  and  thorns  with  which  almost  all  the 
walks  of  theology  have  been  so  unhappily  pestered.     In  my  judg- 
ment, a  habit  of  this  kind  greatly  hurts  the  rational  powers,  when 
in  appearance  it  only  exercises  them  :    it  doth  worse  ;    it  often 
greatly  injures  an  ingenuous   and  candid  temper  ;    it  infects  one 
with  a  rage  of  disputation,  the   cacoethes  of  pedants;    it  inclines 
the  mind  to  hunt  more  for  the  specious  than  the  solid,  and  in  the 
ardor  of  the  combat  to  sacrifice  truth  to  victory.     Not  that  I  would 
dissuade  any  one,  who  may  have  doubts  of  his  own,  to  consult  im- 
partially whatever  authors  may  be  of  use  to  remove  them,  and  to 
examine  the  question  freely.     It  is  not  truth,  but  error,  that  shuns 
the  light,  and  dreads  to  undergo  an  impartial  trial.     It  is  the  liberal 
advice  of  an  apostle,   ''  prove  all  things ;    hold  fast  that  which  is 
good;"    an  advice  which  breathes  nothing  of  that  narrow,  jealous, 
sectarian   spirit,  which  hath   so  long  and  so  generally  prevailed 
among  Christians  of  all  denominations,  and  hath  proved  the  greatest 
pest  of  the  cause.     Or  in  case  one's  situation  exposes  him  to  the 
attacks  of  wranglers,  it  may  be  necessary  also  on  this  account  to 
furnish   himself  with  armor   where   he  soonest  can,  that  he  may 
neither  be  seduced  by  their   sophisms,  nor  give  them  the  appear- 
ance of  a  triumph  at  the  expense  of  truth.     But  where  neither  of 
these  is  the  case,  I  am  not  satisfied  that  this  summary  way  of  pro- 
ceeding is  the  best.     Would  you  then  have  the  theological  student 
to  neglect  this  most  important  question,  concerning  the  truth  of 
revelation,  the  foundation  of  all  the  rest  ?     By  no  means.      I  dis- 
suade only  from  his  taking  this  hasty  way  of  overloading  his  memory 
with  the  productions  of  others,  and  with  all  the  trash  that  has  been 
hatched   in  disputatious,  idle  heads.      I  only  dissuade  from  this, 
that  I  may  indicate  the  method   whereby  he  may  be  enabled  to 
search   the   cause   itself  to  the  bottom,  and  if  possible  to  produce 
something  of  his  own. 

It  was  observed,  that  some  of  the  arguments  against  revelation, 
were  of  a  philosophic  nature,  deriving,  or  at  least  pretending  to 
derive  their  efficacy  from  the  sources  of  pneumatology,  logic,  ethics, 
and  natural  theology ;  others  of  an  historical  nature,  and  others 
critical.      Let  us  therefore  become  acquainted  with  these  several 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  29 

sources,  pneumAtology,  history,  criticism,  and  we  shall  not  need 
to  see  with  other's  eyes,  and  to  retail  by  rote  the  answers  that  have 
been  given  by  others.  We  shall  be  qualified  to  see  with  our  own 
eyes,  and  to  give  answers  for  ourselves,  arising  from  our  own 
knowledge  and  distinct  apprehension  of  the  subject.  But  this,  it 
will  be  said,  is  assigning  us  by  much  the  harder  task  of  the  two. 
The  streams  are  open  and  at  hand,  the  fountain  is  often  remote  and 
hidden  from  our  view.  True  indeed,  and  therefore  without  doubt 
it  will  be  longer  before  we  reach  it;  but  when  we  have  reached 
it,  our  work  is  done ;  whereas  the  streams  are  numberless — every 
day  discovers  some  unknown  before,  and  to  examine  them  all  sev- 
erally is  endless.  And  though  the  task  were  possible,  it  would  not 
be  near  so  satisfactory  to  the  mind. 

It  has  been  the  error  of  ages,  and  still  is  of  the  present  age,  that 
to  have  read  much  is  to  be  very  learned.  There  is  not,  I  may  say, 
a  greater  heresy  against  common  sense.  Reading  is  doubtless 
necessary,  and  it  must  be  owned,  that  eminence  in  knowledge  is 
not  to  be  attained  without  it.  But  two  things  are  ever  specially  to 
be  regarded  on  this  topic,  which  are  these.  First,  that  more 
depends  on  the  quality  of  what  we  read,  than  on  the  quantity  ; 
secondly,  more  depends  on  the  use,  which  by  reflection,  conversa- 
tion, and  composition  we  have  made  of  what  we  read,  than  upon 
both  the  former.  In  whatever  depends  upon  history,  or  the  knowl- 
edge of  languages,  the  materials  indeed  can  only  be  furnished  us 
by  reading ;  but  if  that  reading  be  properly  conducted  and  im- 
proved, its  influence  will  be  very  extensive.  Whilst  therefore  it  is 
by  far  the  too  general  cry,  "  Read,  read,  commentators,  systema- 
tists,  paraphrasts,  controvertists,  demonstrations,  confutations,  apol- 
ogies, answers,  defences,  replies,  and  ten  thousand  other  such  like," 
I  should  think  the  most  important  advice  to  be,  ''Devoutly  study 
the  scriptures  themselves,  if  you  would  understand  their  doctrine  in 
singleness  of  heart.  Get  acquainted  with  the  sacred  history,  in 
all  its  parts — Jewish,  canonical,  ecclesiastic.  Study  the  sacred 
languages  ;  observe  the  peculiarities  of  their  diction.  Attend  to  the 
idiom  of  the  Hebrew,  and  of  the  ancient  Greek  translation,  between 
which  and  the  style  of  the  New  Testament  there  is  a  great  affinity. 
Study  the  Jewish  and  ancient  customs,  polity,  laws,  ceremonies, 
institutions,  manners,  and  with  the  help  of  some  knowledge  in  nat- 
ural theology  and  the  philosophy  of  the  human  mind,  you  will  have 
ground  to  believe,  that,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  you  shall  in  a 
4 


W  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

great  measure  serve  as  commentators,  controvertists,  systematists, 
and  in  short,  everything  to  yourselves.  Without  these  helps,  you 
are  but  bewildered  and  lost  in  the  chaos  of  contradictory  comments 
and  opposite  opinions.  On  the  contrary,  overlooking  all  cavils 
for  a  time,  pursue  the  track  now  pointed  out,  and  as  the  light  from 
its  genuine  sources  above  mentioned  breaks  in  upon  you,  the  ob- 
jections, like  the  shades  of  night,  will  vanish  of  themselves.  Many 
of  those  objections  you  will  discover  to  be  founded  in  an  ignorance 
of  human  nature  and  of  the  nature  of  evidence,  many  in  an  igno- 
rance of  that  which  is  the  subject  of  debate,  the  genius,  the  doe- 
trine,  the  precepts  of  revelation.  You  will  find,  that  many  doughty 
combatants,  who  hare  imagined  they  have  been  performing  won- 
ders for  the  subversion  of  the  cause  of  Christ,  have  been  wasting 
all  their  ammunition  against  the  traditions  and  inventions  of  men, 
and  that  the  pure  institution  of  Jesus  is  not  one  jot  affected  by  their 
argument.  Patience  therefore  we  would  recommend  to  the  young 
student  in  regard  to  particular  cavils  against  religion,  till  once  he 
is  provided  of  a  fund  of  his  own  from  which  he  may  be  enabled  to 
perceive  their  futility^and  to  refute  them.  The  only  just  exceptions 
to  this  rule  are  those  already  mentioned.  When  objections  are 
obtruded  on  him,  which  tend  to  unsettle  his  own  mind,  or  which, 
if  he  is  incapable  of  answering  or  eluding,  may  afford  matter  of 
triumph  to  infidelity,  then  it  is  proper  to  recur  to  the  nearest  meth- 
ods of  removing  them. 

But  some  perhaps  will  be  ready  to  urge,  Is  not  this  method  of 
yours  rather  preposterous  ?  Ought  we  not  first  to  be  satisfied  of 
the  truth  of  revelation,  and  then  enter  on  the  examination  of  its 
contents  ?  Its  divine  origin  therefore  is  doubtless  the  first  question, 
its  particular  doctrines  come  next.  This,  to  a  superficial  inquirer, 
must  appear  plausible,  but  it  is  by  no  means  just.  It  was  observed, 
already,  that  one  principal  source  of  evidence,  either  in  favor  of 
revelation  or  against  it,  is  its  own  character,  and  this  we  call  the 
intrinsic  evidence.  To  take  the  most  effectual  methods  therefore 
of  coming  at  the  knowledge  of  its  character,  that  is,  of  discovering 
what  it  contains,  is  in  fact  to  take  the  most  effectual  method  of 
studying  one  principal  fund  of  evidence,  either  for  or  '  against  it. 
Again,  in  regard  to  the  attacks  that  are  made  upon  Christianity,  it 
is  impossible  we  should  judge,  whether  they  be  just  or  unjust,  till 
we  have  gotten  some  notion  of  what  Christianity  is.  This  is  the 
more  necessary  as  we  see  under  this  identical  name,  things  in  many 
respects  widely    different,  are  in   different  places  attacked.     Th** 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  31 

infidel  has  not  quite  tlie  same  object  in  England  as  in  Spain,  nor  in 
Sweden  as  in  either,  nor  in  Switzerland  as  in  any  of  the  three. 
The  case  is,  every  assailant  attaches  to  the  name  all  the  religions 
opinions  generally  received  in  the  place  where  he  resides.  But  if 
it  is  the  institution  of  Christ,  of  the  truth  of  which  we  are  anxious 
to  be  ascertained,  and  not  the  glosses  of  our  rabbles  ;  if  it  is  the 
commandments  of  God  which  excite  our  zeal,  and  not  the  traditions 
of  the  elders  or  the  establishment  of  our  legislators,  it  is  necessary 
we  should  know  before  we  enter  on  the  controversy,  how  to  make 
the  distinction  between  the  one  and  the  other.  This  is  not  the 
only  cause,  though  indeed  it  is  the  chief  one,  wherein  a  great  deal 
of  time  and  pains  is  worse  than  idly  wasted,  which  would  have  been 
spared,  if  the  parties  had  understood  sufficiently  the  subject  in  de- 
bate. I  shall  illustrate  this  by  a  familiar  example.  Suppose  one 
should  undertake  to  prove  to  you,  that  the  constitution  of  Great  Brit- 
ain is  a  very  bad  constitution  in  every  respect.  Could  you  imagine 
yourselves  qualified  for  judging  of  the  validity  of  his  arguments,  if 
you  were  yourselves  quite  ignorant,  what  that  constitution  is  ?  You 
might  be  liable  to  be  imposed  upon  by  the  grossest  falsehoods  and 
the  vilest  misrepresentations,  which  the  bare  study  of  that  constitu- 
tion itself  might  be  sufficient  to  detect,  and  might  serve  abundantly 
to  supply  the  place  of  every  refutation.  The  method  I  recommend, 
therefore,  is  in  fact  the  simplest  and  the  most  natural.  It  will  at 
once,  and  by  the  same  exertion  on  your  part,  instruct  you  in  the 
contents  and  in  some  of  the  principal  evidences  of  revelation,  and 
thus  it  will  both  facilitate  and  shorten  your  inquiries. 

To  this  let  me  add,  it  is  the  method  which  I  have,  in  my  own 
experience,  found  to  answer  best.  1  very  early  endeavored  to  be- 
come acquainted  with  the  scriptures,  which,  from  my  first  perusal, 
I  saw  merited  a  very  close  attention,  though  viewed  in  no  higher 
light  than  as  human  compositions,  but  much  more,  as  claiming  the 
character  of  divine  revelation.  As  I  became  acquainted  with  the 
original  languages,  and  with  ancient  oriental  usages  and  manners, 
I  applied  my  knowledsfe  in  these,  for  removing  obscurities  and 
doubts,  where  they  occurred  in  scripture.  In  some  cases,  I  thought 
I  succeeded,  in  others  not.  As  to  the  last,  I  was  not  impatient, 
not  doubting,  but  as  the  light  of  knowledge  advanced,  I  should  see 
farther  and  more  distinctly.  I  can  say  with  truth,  I  was  not  entire- 
ly disappointed.  I  soon  after  attempted  the  reading  of  controver- 
sial writers,  and  first  those  which  regard  the  general  controversy, 
whether  the  scriptures   contain  a  revelation  from  God,  or,  which 


^  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

amounts  to  the  same,  whether  Christianity  be  a  divine  communica- 
tion to  mankind,  or  a  mere  human  figment.  I  began  with  the 
attacks  made  upon  our  religion,  as  I  made  it  a  rule  to  hear  the  plea 
of  a  party  first  in  his  own  language,  and  not  in  the  words  of  an  an- 
gry and  perhaps  uncandid  antagonist.  After  reading  an  attack,  if 
there  was  any  thing  specious  in  it,  I  considered  with  myself,  how  I 
should  answer  the  principal  arguments,  if  urged  upon  me  by  an  ad- 
versary with  a  view  to  discredit  religion,  or  if  they  were  proposed 
as  difficulties  by  a  friend,  who  intended  only  the  removal  of  his 
own  doubts.  If  I  found  myself  puzzled  by  the  arguments,  not  be- 
ing  satisfied  with  any  answer  which  occurred  to  myself,  I  had  re- 
course, as  soon  as  possible,  to  the  best  I  could  hear  of  from  oth- 
ers. But  it  sometimes  happened,  on  the  contrary,  that,  on  a  little 
reflection,  I  thought  myself  able  to  refute  the  antagonist's  argu- 
ments, in  which  case  I  never  inquired  about  any  answers  that 
might  have  been  published.  In  consequence  of  this  method,  I  have 
read  many  more  attacks  upon  revelation  than  defences  of  it.  I 
carried  this  so  far  once,  as  to  set  about  the  publication  of  an  an- 
swer* to  a  very  subtle  attack  on  the  Christian  religion  by  a  late 
celebrated  metaphysician,  before  1  had  an  opportunity  of  perusing 
the  work  of  any  former  answerer  ;  a  conduct  which  T  would  not 
recommend  to  any  body's  imitation,  as  it  exposes  one  to  mistakes 
and  misrepresentations,  which  may  easily  be  avoided.  1  shall  fur- 
ther add  on  this  article,  that  the  only  species  of  assault  made 
against  revelation,  whic\i  is  totally  independent  of  its  contents  and 
history,  and  therefore  may  be  previously  studied  and  understood,  is 
that  which  is  aimed  against  the  possibility  of  all  its  miraculous  facts. 
This  question  is  purely  abstract  and  metaphysical,  and  would  be 
the  same,  it  must  be  owned,  whatever  the  history,  character  or 
genius  of  our  religion  were. 

So  much  for  the  subject  in  general,  the  different  kinds  of  proof 
of  which  it  is  susceptible,  and  the  diSferent  sorts  of  objections  to 
which  it  is  exposed.  So  much  also  for  the  best  method  of  prepar- 
ing ourselves  for  understanding  the  subject,  with  its  evidence,  and 
for  refuting  the  objections.  I  shall  in  my  next  discourse  consider, 
how  we  may  most  profitably  pursue  our  inquiries  into  the  diflferent 
parts  of  the  subject,  and  examine  the  controversies  which  these 
have  given  rise  to. 

*  The  Dissertation  on  Miracles  in  answer  to  Mr.  Hume. 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  33 


LECTURE  II. 

Of  the  Christian  System — the  Scriptures  ought  to  be  the  first  study — after- 
wards Systems  and  Commentaries  may  be  occasionally  consulted — bad  con- 
sequence of  beginning  the  study  of  Theology  with  Systems  and  Com- 
mentaries. 

I  NOW  proceed  to  the  consideration  of  the  parts  of  the  Christian 
system,  and  the  controversies  that  have  been  carried  on  concern- 
ing the  explication  of  these  by  different  sects  of  Christians.  As 
method  tends  both  to  accelerate  and  to  facilitate  our  progress  in 
every  discussion,  it  will  naturally  occur  to  every  considerate  per- 
son, that  some  methodical  digest  of  the  tenets  and  precepts  con- 
tained in  our  Bible  would  be  at  least  a  matter  of  great  conveniency. 
That  it  is  not  of  absolute  necessity  we  may  warrantably  conclude 
from  this  undeniable  fact,  that  there  neither  is  any  such  digest  in 
scripture,  nor  was  there  in  the  church  in  the  earliest  and  purest 
times.  But  on  the  other  hand  these  considerations  are  no  argu- 
ments against  its  utility.  God,  in  the  economy  of  grace,  as  in  the 
economy  of  nature,  supplies  man  with  all  the  materials  necessary  for 
his  support  and  well  being,  but  at  the  same  time  requires  the  exer- 
cise of  those  faculties  with  which  he  hath  endowed  him,  for  turning 
those  materials  to  the  best  account.  Thus  much  may  be  said  in  apol- 
ogy for  system  makers  of  different  denominations,  many  of  whom  I 
doubt  not  have  intended  well,  whose  success  in  this  department  we 
cannot  at  all  admire.  So  it  is,  however,  that  we  have  great  plenty 
of  systems  in  many  things  flatly  contradicting  one  another,  all 
pretending  to  be  founded  on,  or  at  least  conformable  to,  the  doc- 
trine of  holy  writ.  Amid  such  variety  how  is  the  young  student  to 
proceed?  Must  he  begin  with  adopting  implicitly  one  of  these  pre- 
tended treasuries  of  Christian  doctrine,  studying  assiduously  both 
the  theoretic  part  and  the  practical  as  the  standard  of  truth,  as  the 
very  quintessence  of  our  divine  institution  ;  must  he  learn  from  it 
and  from  such  commentators  as  are  coincident  in  their  religious 
sentiments,  to  understand  the  scriptures,  to  ascertain  the  sense  of 
every  thing  that  appears  ambiguous,  to  solve  every  thing  that  is 
difficult,  and  to  enlighten  every  thing  that  is  obscure  ?  On  the  oth- 
er hand,  what  security  shall  our  young  pupil  have,  that  the  guide 
who  has  been  assigned  to  him  is  equal  to  the  office  ?  How  shall  he 
know  that  he  is  not  following  the  train  of  a  mere  ignis  fatuus,  in- 
stead of  the  direction  of  a  heavenly  luminary  ?  You  cannot  say,  he 
may  arrive  at  this  knowledge  from  scripture,  for  by  the  hypothesis, 


34  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

which  is  indeed  conformable  to  the  general  practice  almost  every 
where,  the  young  student  is  from  this  teacher  to  learn  to  under- 
stand the  scripture,  not  from  scripture  to  learn  to  judge  of  this  teach- 
er ;  for  where  this  last  to  be  the  case,  he  must  be  previously  ac- 
tjuainted  with  the  mind  of  the  spirit  as  manifested  in  the  scriptures, 
and  not  take  the  mind  of  the  spirit  on  the  word  of  his  teacher. 

Ay,  but  the  teacher  we  assign  him,  say  they,  is  celebrated  for 
knowledge  and  piety,  and  is  of  great  reputation  among  the  orthodox 
as  an  orthodox  divine.  As  to  his  knowledge  and  piety,  are  we  to  sus- 
tain ourselves  perfect  judges  of  these  accomplishments,  or  have  not 
pedantry  and  hypocrisy  sometimes  imposed  even  upon  the  generality 
of  men  ?  But  admitting  that  the  character  you  give  him  were  in  both 
respects  perfectly  just,  do  even  these  qualifications,  however  valua- 
ble, secure  a  man  against  error  either  in  doctrine  or  practice  1 
Have  not  several,  whom  in  charity  we  are  bound  to  think  both 
knowing  and  pious,  maintained  in  many  instances  opposite  opin- 
ions, each  extremely  positive  as  to  his  own,  and  extremely  zealous 
in  defence  of  it  ?  And  as  to  orthodox,  I  should  be  glad  to  know  the 
meaning  of  the  epithet.  Nothing,  you  say,  can  be  plainer.  The 
orthodox  are  those  who  in  religious  matters  entertain  right  opin- 
ions ;  be  it  so.  How  then  is  it  possible  I  should  know  who  they  are 
that  entertain  right  opinions,  before  I  know  what  opinions  are 
right  1  I  must  therefore  unquestionably  know  orthodoxy,  before  I 
can  know  or  judge  who  are  orthodox.  Now  to  know  the  truths  of 
religion,  which  you  call  orthodox,  is  the  very  end  of  my  inquiries, 
and  am  1  to  begin  these  inquiries  on  the  presumption,  that  with- 
out any  inquiry  I  know  it  already  %  Besides,  is  this  thing  which 
you  call  orthodoxy,  a  thing  in  which  mankind  are  universally  agreed 
insomuch  that  it  would  seem  to  be  entitled  to  the  privilege  of  an 
axiom  or  first  principle  to  be  assumed  without  proof?  duite  the  re- 
verse. There  is  nothing  about  which  men  have  been,  and  still  are, 
more  divided.  It  has  been  accounted  orthodox  divinity  in  one  age, 
which  hath  been  branded  as  ridiculous  fanatacism  in  the  next. 
It  is  at  this  day  deemed  the  perfection  of  orthodoxy  in  one  coun- 
try, which  in  an  adjacent  country  is  looked  upon  as  damnable  her- 
esy. Nay  in  the  same  country  hath  not  every  sect  a  standard  of 
their  own  ?  Accordingly  when  any  person  seriously  uses  the  word, 
before  we  can  understand  his  meaning,  we  must  know  to  what 
communion  he  belongs.  When  that  is  known,  we  comprehend 
him  perfectly.  By  the  orthodox  he  means  always  those  who  agree 
in  opinion  with  him  and  his  party,  and  by  the  heterodox  those  who 
differ  from  him.     When  one  says  then,  of  any  teacher   whatever^ 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  35 

that  all  the  orthodox  acknowledge  his  orthodoxy,  he  says  neither 
more  nor  less  than  this,  **  all  who  are  of  the  same  opinion  with 
him,of  which  number  I  am  one,  believe  him  to  be  in  the  right," 
And  is  this  any  thing  more,  than  what  may  be  asserted  by  some 
person  or  other,  of  every  teacher  that  ever  did  or  ever  will  exist  ? 
**  Words,"  it  was  well  said  by  a  philosopher  of  the  last  age,  "  are 
the  counters  of  wise  men  and  the  money  of  fools."  And  when 
they  are  contrived  on  purpose  to  render  persons  parties  or  opin- 
ions the  objects  of  admiration  or  of  abhorrence,  the  multitude  are 
very  susceptible  of  the  impression  intended  to  be  conveyed  by 
them,  without  entering  at  all,  or  ever  inquiring  into  the  meaning 
of  the  words.  And  to  say  the  truth,  we  have  but  too  many  ec- 
clesiastic terms  and  phrases,  which  savour  grossly  of  the  arts  of  a 
crafty  priesthood,  who  meant  to  keep  the  world  in  ignorance,  to 
secure  an  implicit  faith  in  their  own  dogmas,  and  to  intimidate 
men  from  an  impartial  inquiry  into  holy  writ. 

But  would  you  then  lay  aside  systems  altogether,  as  useless  or 
even  dangerous  ?  By  no  means.  But  I  am  not  for  beginning  with 
them.  I  am  even  not  for  entering  on  their  examination,  till  one 
has  become  in  the  way  formerly  recommended,  if  not  a  critic,  at 
least  a  considerable  proficient  in  the  scripture.  'Tis  only  thus, 
we  can  establish  to  ourselves  a  rule  by  which  we  are  to  judge  of 
the  .  truth  or  falsehood  of  what  they  affirm.  *Tis  only  thus,  that 
we  bring  systems  to  be  tried  at  the  bar  of  scripture,  and  not  scrip- 
ture to  be  tried  at  theirs.  'Tis  only  thus  we  can  be  qualified  to 
follow  the  advice  of  the  prophet  in  regard  to  all  the  teachers  with- 
out exception,  "  To  the  law  and  to  the  testimony,  if  they  speak  not 
according  to  this  word,  they  have  no  truth  in  them."  'Tis  only 
thus,  we  can  imitate  the  noble  example  set  us  by  the  wise  Bereans, 
in  exact  conformity  to  the  prophet's  order,  of  whom  we  learn,  that 
they  did  not  admit  the  truth  of  Christ's  doctrine  even  on  the  testi- 
mony of  his  apostles,  but  having  candidly  heard  what  they  said, 
"  searched  the  scriptures  daily  to  see  if  these  things  were  so.'* 
'Tis  only  thus,  we  can  avoid  the  reproach  of  calling  other  men 
xflft^^rywrat  masters,  leaders,  dictators,  to  the  manifest  derogation 
of  the  honor  due  to  our  only  master,  leader  and  dictator,  Christ. 
'Tis  only  thus,  we  can  avoid  incurring  the  reproach  thrown  upon 
the  Pharisees,  concerning  whom  God  says,  "  their  fear  towards  me 
is  taught  by  the  precepts  of  men." 

But  then  it  will  be  said,  if  the  scriptures  are  to  be  our  first  study, 
will  it  not  be  necessary,  that,  even  in   reading  them,  we   take  the 


36  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

aid  of  some  able  commentator?  Perhaps  I  shall  appear  somewhat 
singular  in  my  way  of  thinking,  when  I  tell  you  in  reply,  that  I 
would  not  have  you  at  first  recur  to  any  of  them.  Do  not  mistake 
me,  as  though  I  meant  to  signify,  that  there  is  no  good  to  be  had 
from  commentaries.  I  am  far  from  judging  thus  of  commentaries 
in  general,  any  more  than  of  systems.  But  neither  are  proper  for 
the  beginner,  whose  object  it  is  impartially  to  search  out  the  mind 
of  the  spirit,  and  not  to  imbibe  the  scheme  of  any  dogmatist.  Al- 
most every  commentator  hath  his  favorite  system,  which  occupies 
his  imagination,  biasses  his  understanding,  and  more  or  less  tinges 
all  his  comments.  The  only  assistances  which  I  would  recom- 
mend, are  those  in  which  there  can  bono  tendency  to  warp  your 
judgment.  It  is  the  serious  and  frequent  reading  of  the  divine  or- 
acles, accompanied  with  fervent  prayer;  it  is  the  comparing  of 
scripture  with  scripture  ;  it  is  the  diligent  study  of  the  languages 
in  which  they  are  written ;  it  is  the  knowledge  of  those  histories 
and  antiquities  to  which  they  allude.  These  indeed  will  not  tell 
you  what  you  are  to  judge  of  every  passage,  and  so  much  the  bet- 
ter. God  hath  given  you  judgment,  and  requires  you  to  exercise 
it.  *'  And  why  even  of  yourselves  judge  ye  not  wha^  is  right  ?" 
If  sufficient  light  is  brought  to  you,  and  if  you  have  eyes  wherewith 
to  see,  will  you  not  take  the  trouble  to  use  them,  and  observe  what 
is  before  you  ;  must  you  be  told  every  thing  as  though  you  were 
blind  or  in  utter  darkness?  The  helps,  therefore,  which  I  recom- 
mend, are  such  as  pronounce  nothing  concerning  the  import  of  holy 
writ,  but  only  increase  the  light  by  means  of  which  the  sense  may  be 
discovered.  The  student  I  would  have  in  a  great  measure  to  be  self 
taught,  a  well  conducted  attempt  at  which,  is,  in  my  opinion,  the 
true  way  of  preparing  himself  for  being  taught  of  God.  Whoever 
thinks  that  this  method  will  not  do,  ought  openly  and  honestly  to  dis- 
claim the  principle,  that  "  the  scriptures  are  able  to  make  the  man 
of  God  perfect,  thoroughly  furnished  unto  all  good  works."  Such  a 
one  on  the  contrary  hath  in  effect,  whatever  he  may  imagine,  aban- 
doned the  protestant  doctrine  of  the  perspicuity  and  absolute  suf- 
ficiency of  scripture.  He  hath  not  entirely  purged  out  the  old 
leaven,  but  retains  a  hankering  after  some  human  and  unerring 
interpreter.  If  he  differs  with  Rome,  it  is  not  really  about  the 
needfulness  of  the  office,  but  about  the  person  or  persons  who 
shall  fill  it. 

Let   us  consider  a  little  the  consequences  of  the  other  method, 
which  indeed  is  by  far  the  most  common,  not  only  with  papists  but 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  37 

even  with  Protestants  of  all  denominations,  and  which  I  would  call 
beginning  our  theological  studies  where  they  should  end,  with 
systems  and  commentaries.  To  what  other  cause  can  we  justly 
impute  it,  that  so  much  of  implicit  faith,  so  much  of  unrelenting  big- 
otry, and  so  many  divisions  prevail  in  the  Christian  world,  espe* 
cially  among  the  pastors  themselves,  those  who  ought  to  be  the 
foremost  in  propagating  more  liberal  sentiments  of  the  Gospel  of 
Christ?  The  young  student,  new  come  from  college,  where  he  was 
taken  up  with  other  matters,  enters  on  the  study  of  theology  quite 
raw  and  unexperienced.  He  is  told,  if  a  Protestant,  that  the  whole 
of  his  religion  is  contained  in  the  Bible ;  and  even,  if  a  Romanist,  he 
is  informed  that  the  scriptures  are  inspired  and  consequently  true, 
and  that  they  contain  many  at  least  of  the  christian  doctrines.  The 
foundation  is  laid  by  some  favourite  system  of  the  party  to  which 
he  belongs,  which  is  warmly  recommended  by  him  who  has  the  di- 
rection of  his  studies.  When  that  is  done,  he  is  desirous  to  com- 
mence the  study  of  holy  writ.  He  begins,  and  as  may  be  naturally 
expected,  being  quite  a  stranger  to  the  character  of  the  nation  to 
whom  the  sacred  writers  belonged  and  of  whom  they  write,  knowing 
nothing  of  their  polity,  laws,  customs,  manners,  ceremonies,  to 
which  there  are  so  frequent  allusions,  and  having  but  a  smattering 
of  the  sacred  languages,  and  nothing  of  the  idiom,  he  is  often  puz- 
zled to  find  out  the  sense.  H  his  former  reading  do  him  no  prej- 
udice, it  is  well  y  much  good  is  not  to  be  expected  from  it.  Im- 
patient to  get  rid  of  his  perplexity,  and  to  know  every  thing  as  he 
proceeds,  some  expositor  must  be  consulted.  An  expositor  will  be 
got  that  shall  corroborate  the  effect  produced  by  the  system.  If 
the  place  of  bis  residence  be  Rome,  one  interpreter  is  put  into 
his  hands  ;  if  it  happen  to  be  Moscow,  another  ;  if  Oxford,  a  third  j 
if  London,  a  fourth  ;  and  if  Geneva,  very  probably  one  who  differs 
in  his  sentiments  from  all  the  four.  Having  no  criterion  of  his 
own,  whereby  lie  can  form  a  judgment  of  the  justness  of  their  in- 
terpretation, and  having  an  unbounded  trust  in  the  wisdom  of  his 
tutor,  and  the  penetration  of  the  authors  he  has  recommended,  he 
easily  adopts  in  every  thing  their  explications  and  solutions.  His 
vacant  mind,  like  what  the  lawyers  call  a  derclictunif  is  claimed  in 
property  by  the  first  occupant.  That  author,  and  others  of  the 
same  party,  commonly  keep  possession  ever  after.  To  the  stand- 
ard set  up  by  them,  every  passage  in  scripture  must  by  all  the  arts 
of  distorting,  mutilating,  torturing,  be  made  conformable,  and  by 
5 


38 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 


the  same  standard  all  other  authors  and  interpreters  must  be  pro- 
nounced good  or  bad,  orthodox  or  heretical.  This  is  the  true  ori- 
gin of  bigotry,  and  that  bitterness  of  spirit  with  which  it  is  invaria- 
bly accompanied.  I  do  not  deny,  that  there  are  other  causes,  sec- 
ular views  for  instance  which  co-operate  with  those  prepossessions 
and  prejudices  in  supporting  such  a  variety  of  opinions  among 
Christians.  But  I  affirm,  that  it  is  chiefly  imputable  to  this  prepos- 
terous method  of  imbibing  opinions  implicitly,  before  we  are  capa- 
ble to  form  a  judgment.  For  when  we  have  no  principles  of  critical 
knowledge,  we  have  no  rule  by  which  to  choose,  but  must  be  at  the 
mercy  of  the  first  interpreter  who  falls  in  our  way.  And  of  the  tenets, 
which  he  has  dictated,  we  soon  come  to  think  ourselves  bound,  in 
honor  and  conscience,  to  be  the  zealous  defenders  ever  after. 

But  what  would  you  have  us  to  do  ?  Must  we  give  up  with  all 
systems,  commentaries,  paraphrases,  and  the  like  ?  I  say  not  so 
entirely,  though  I  by  no  means  think  the  regular  study  of  them 
ought  to  be  begun  with.  When  we  have  made  some  progress  in 
the  scriptural  science,  we  may  consult  them  occasionally,  we  have 
then  provided  ourselves  in  some  principles,  by  which  we  may  ex- 
amine them.  And  let  us  not  confine  ourselves  to  those  of  one  side 
only,  but  freely  consult  those  of  every  side.  This  we  must  do,  if 
we  would  constitute  scripture  the  umpire  in  the  controversy,  and 
not  bring  it  to  be  tried  at  the  bar  of  some  system  maker  or  com- 
mentator. The  young  student  ought  habitually  to  remember,  that 
every  man  is  fallible  in  judgment,  as  well  as  in  conduct,  and  that  no 
man  can  any  more  pretend  to  an  exemption  from  error,  than  to  an  im- 
munity from  sin.  And  in  this  respect,  as  well  as  in  others,  we  may 
well  apply  the  admonition  of  the  psalmist.  **  Trust  not  in  princes, 
even  chief  men,"  as  the  word  imports  in  point  of  erudition  as  well 
as  authority,  "  nor  in  the  sons  of  men.  It  is  better  to  trust  in  the 
Lord,  than  to  put  confidence  in  man.  It  is  better  to  trust  in  the 
Lord,  than  to  put  confidence  in  princes."  When  a  Romanist  tells 
me,  "  The  method  you  recommend  is  extremely  dangerous  ;  the 
scriptures  are  even  in  the  most  important  articles  obscure  and  am- 
biguous ;  you  are  therefore  in  the  most  imminent  danger  of  being 
misled  by  them,  unless  you  are  first  provided  in  a  sound  and  ap- 
proved guide ;"  when,  I  say,  a  person  of  the  Romish  communion 
addresseth  himself  to  me  in  this  manner,  however  much  I  differ 
from  him  in  judgment,  truth  compels  me  to  acknowledge,  that  he 
speaks  in  character  and  maintains  a  perfect  consistency  with  the 
avowed  principles  of  his  sect.     But  when  a  Protestant   holds  the 


^ 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  39 

same  language,  I  must  pronounce  him  the  most  inconsistent  creature 
upon  earth.  He  deserts  all  those  principles  of  the  perspicuity  and  suf- 
ficiency of  scripture  in  things  essential  to  salvation,  and  of  the  right 
of  private  judgment,  which  served  as  the  great  foundation  of  his  dis- 
sent from  Rome.  The  confidence,  which  Rome  requires  that  you 
should  put  in  the  dictates  of  a  church,  which  she  believes,  or  pro- 
fesses to  believe  to  be  infallible,  this  man,  much  more  absurdly,  re- 
quires you  to  put  in  those  men  of  whom  he  owns,  that  they  had  no 
more   security  against  error  than  you  have  yourself. 

But  in  reading  the  scripture,  when  difficulties  occur,  what  are 
we  to  do,  or  what  can  we  do  better,  than  immediately  recur  to  some 
eminent  interpreter  ?  Perhaps  the  answer  I  am  going  to  give,  will 
appear  astonishing,  as  I  know  it  is  unusual.  If  you  are  notable 
with  the  strictest  attention  and  reflection  to  solve  the  difficulty 
yourself,  do  not  make  it  a  rule  to  seek  an  immediate  solution  of  it 
from  some  other  quarter.  Have  patience,  and  as  you  grow  acquaint- 
ed with  the  scope  of  the  whole  by  frequent  and  attentive  reading, 
you  will  daily  find  fewer  difficulties ;  they  will  vanish  of  themselves. 
-The  more  perspicuous  parts  will  insensibly  reflect  a  light  on  the 
more  obscure.  If  you  had  the  helps  to  be  obtained  from  history, 
geography,  the  knowledge  of  the  manners  and  polity  of  the  people, 
which  in  effect  are  perfectly  coincident  with  the  study  of  the 
language,  and  which  may  all  be  comprehended  in  these  two  sources, 
sacred  history  and  biblical  philology,  you  will  be  daily  fitter,  as  1 
said  before,  for  being  interpreters  for  yourselves.  And  I  will  take 
upon  me  to  say,  that  if  this  method  were  universally  pursued,  and 
all  temporal  interests  were  out  of  the  question,  the  differences  in 
opinion  about  the  sense  of  scripture  would  be  inconsiderable.  In 
that  case,  there  would  not  be  one  controversy  among  the  disciples 
of  Jesus,  where  at  present  there  are  fifty.  And  there  would  be  no 
such  thing  as  classing  ourselves  under  different  leaders,  which  has 
been  so  long  the  disgrace  of  the  christian  name.  We  can  read  the 
rebuke  which  Paul  gives  to  the  Corinthians,  for  distinguishing 
themselves  thus  in  the  true  spirit  of  sectarism,  one  saying,  "  I  am  of 
Paul,  another  I  am  of  Apollos,  a  third  I  am  of  Cephas,"  and  we 
remain  insensible  all  the  while,  that  the  rebuke  strikes  much  more 
severely  against  us,  than  it  did  against  them.  Has  not  this  been 
universally  the  method  in  the  Christian  world  for  many  ages  ?  I 
am  an  adherent  of  the  Roman  pontiff",  says  one,  and  I  of  the  patri- 
arch of  Constantinople,  says  another.  And  among  Protestants  one 
says,  I  am  of  Luther,  another  I  am  of  Calvin,  a  third  I  am  of  Ar- 


40  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

minius.  Ay,  but  were  not  some  of  these,  men  of  the  most  respect- 
aWe  characters  1  None  is  more  ready  to  acknowledge  it.  But 
were  not  Paul  and  Peter  and  Apollos,  the  apostles  and  first  minis- 
ters of  Christ,  also  men  of  the  most  respectable  characters  ?  Yet 
with  what  warmth  and  indignation  do  we  see  one  of  themselves 
disclaiming  a  distinction,  which  he  accounts  injurious  to  the  honor 
of  his  Master,  and  subversive  of  his  cause.  But  to  proceed.  The 
disciple  in  each  sect  is  first  instructed  in  the  principles  or  system 
of  their  respective  leader,  and  afterwards  with  the  assistance  of 
what  they  call  an  orthodox  commentator,  that  is  a  zealous  partisan 
of  the  sect,  he  is  sent  to  the  study  of  scripture.  The  first  object  is 
manifestly  to  make  him  of  the  party,  the  second  to  make  him  a 
Christian,  or  compounding  both  views  together,  to  make  him  just 
such  a  Christian,  and  so  far  only,  as  is  compatible  with  the  princi- 
ples of  the  party.  The  effect  sufficiently  demonstrates  the  absurdi- 
ty of  the  method.  All  of  them  almost,  without  exception,  of  the 
most  opposite  sects  and  most  discordant  principles,  when  thus  pre- 
pared, find  without  difficulty  their  several  systems  supported 
in  scripture,  and  every  other  system  but  their  own  condemned. 
How  unsafe  then  must  it  be  to  trust  in  men  !  When  we  thus  im- 
plicitly follow  a  guide  before  inquiry,  if  we  should  even  happen  to 
be  in  the  right,  it  is,  with  regard  to  us,  a  matter  purely  accidental. 
No  Protestant  dares  advance  the  same  thing  with  regard  to  search- 
ing the  scriptures,  because  in  doing  this  we  obey  the  express  com- 
mand of  Him,  whose  authority,  in  profession  at  least,  all  Pro- 
testants hold  to  be  more  venerable,  that  even  that  of  the  founders 
of  their  several  sects. 

But  when  is  it,  then,  that  you  would  think  it  proper  to  recur  to 
systems  and  commentators?  The  answer  is  plain.  After  you  have 
acquired  such  an  insight  into  the  spirit  and  sentiments  of  sacred 
writ,  that  you  are  capable  of  forming  some  judgment  of  the  confor- 
mity or  contrariety  of  the  doctrine  of  these  authors  to  that  infallible 
standard.  With  the  examination  of  such  human  compositions,  the 
studies  of  the  theologian  ought,  in  my  judgment,  to  be  concluded 
land  not  begun.  The  disciple  of  the  Son  of  God  ought,  above  all 
men,  to  be  able  with  regard  to  merely  human  teachers  to  apply  to 
Jiimself  the  words  of  the  poet, 

Nullius  addle tusjurare  in  verba  magistri.* 
*  Sworn  to  no  master. 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  41 

I  shall  even  suppose,  that  we  couldput  an  interpreter  into  your 
hands,  who  would  always  guide  you  right,  and  this  is  more  than 
any  man,  that  does  not  claim  infallibility,  can  pretend  to  do.  Yet 
even  in  that  case,  I  am  not  satisfied,  that  this  would  be  the  best 
method  for  the  young  student  to  take,  in  order  to  arrive  at  the  un- 
derstanding of  the  scriptures.  To  learn,  seems,  with  many,  to  im- 
ply no  more  than  a  bare  exercise  of  memory.  To  read,  and  to  re- 
member is,  they  imagine,  all  they  have  to  do.  I  affirm,  on  the  con- 
trary, that  a  great  deal  more  is  necessary,  as  to  exercise  the  judg- 
ment and  the  discursive  faculty.  I  shall  put  the  case,  that  one 
were  employed  to  teach  you  algebra  ;  and  instead  of  instructing 
you  in  the  manner  of  stating  and  resolving  algebraic  equations,  he 
should  think  it  incumbent  on  him,  only  to  inform  you  of  all  the 
principal  problems,  that  had  at  any  time  exercised  the  art  of  the 
most  famous  algebraists,  and  the  solutions  they  had  given  ;  and  be- 
ing possessed  of  a  retentive  memory,  I  shall  suppose,  you  have  a 
distinct  remembrance  both  of  the  questions  and  the  answers  ;  could 
you,  for  this,  be  said  to  have  learnt  algebra  ?  No,  surely.  To 
teach  you  that  ingenious  and  useful  art,  is  to  instruct  you  in  those 
principles,  by  the  proper  application  of  which,  you  shall  be  enabled 
to  solve  the  questions  for  yourselves.  In  like  manner,  to  teach  you 
to  understand  the  scriptures,  is  to  initiate  you  into  those  general  prin- 
ciples, which  will  gradually  enable  you  of  yourselves,  to  enter  into 
their  sense  and  spirit.  It  is  not  to  make  you  repeat  by  rote  the 
judgments  of  others,  but  to  bring  you  to  form  judgments  of  your 
own  ;  to  see  with  your  own  eyes,  and  not  with  other  people's.  I 
shall  conclude  this  prelection  with  the  translation  of  a  short  pas- 
sage from  the  Persian  letters,  which  falls  in  entirely  with  my  pres- 
ent subject.  Rica  having  been  to  visit  the  library  of  a  French  con- 
vent, writes  thus  to  his  friend  in  Persia  concerning  what  had  pass- 
ed. Father,  said  I  to  the  librarian,  what  are  these  huge  volumes 
which  fill  the  whole  side  of  the  library  ?  These,  said  he,  are  the  In- 
terpreters of  the  scriptures.  There  is  a  prodigious  number  of  them, 
replied  I ;  the  scriptures  must  have  been  very  dark  formerly  and 
very  clear  at  present.  Do  there  remain  still  any  doubts  ?  Are  there 
now  any  points  contested?  Are  there,  answered  he  with  surprise. 
Are  there  ?  There  are  almost  as  many  as  there  are  lines.  You 
astonish  me,  said  I,  what  then  have  all  these  authors  been  doing  1 
These  authors,  returned  he,  never  searched  the  scriptures,  for  what 
ought  to  be  believed,  but  for  what  they  did  believe  themselves.  They 
did  not  consider  them  as  a  book,  wherein  were  contained  the  doc- 


4J  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

trines  which  they  ought  to  receive,  but  as  a  work  which  might  be 
made  to  authorize  their  own  ideas.  For  this  reason,  they  have 
corrupted  all  the  meanings,  and  have  put  every  passage  to  the  tor- 
ture, to  make  it  speak  their  own  sense.  'Tis  a  country  where- 
on people  of  all  sects  make  invasions,  and  go  for  pillage ;  it 
is  a  field  of  battle,  where  when  hostile  nations  meet,  they  engage, 
attack  and  skirmish  in  a  thousand  different  ways. 

My  next  discourse  will  relate  chiefly  to  the  advantages  resulting 
from  a  proper  study  of  holy  writ,  the  manner  of  conducting  it, 
particularly  with  this  view,  that  the  student  may  form  to  himself  a 
disest  of  its  doctrine. 


LECTURE   in. 


How  the  Student  ought  to  set  about  the  Examination  of  the  Scriptures — Direc- 
tions for  forming  an  Abstract  of  the  Doctrine  of  Holy  Writ. 

In  my  last  discourse  1  purposed  to  show,  that  if  it  was  our  chief 
aim,  in  spiritual  matters,  to  be  fed  with  the  sincere  milk  of  the 
word,  to  be  instructed  in  the  unadulterated  doctrine  of  Christ,  we 
must  have  recourse  to  the  fountain  itself,  the  sacred  scriptures,  and 
begin  our  studies  there.  If,  on  the  contrary,  like  the  Pharisees  in 
pur  Saviour's  time,  we  place  unbounded  confidence  in  our  several 
rabbies,  the  founders  of  sects  and  builders  of  systems;  if  we  are 
desirous  of  seeing  only  with  their  eyes,  that  is,  in  other  words,  if  we 
are  more  solicitous  to  be  their  followers  than  the  followers  of  Christ, 
and  think  ourselves  safer  under  their  guidance,  though  acknowl- 
edged to  be  merely  human  and  fallible,  than  under  that  of  the  infalli- 
ble spirit  of  truth  ;  if  this,  I  say,  be  our  principal  purpose,  we  ought 
doubtless  to  pursue  the  contrary  method,  and  make  it  our  first  care 
to  be  thoroughly  instructed  in  the  traditionary  dogmas,  glosses, 
comments  of  that  particular  champion  under  whose  banners  we 
choose  to  enlist  ourselves,  and  by  whose  name  we  are  carnal  and 
mean  enough  to  glory  in  being  distinguished.  And  after  we  have 
sufficiently  imbibed  all  his  sublimated  theories  and  subtile  ratio- 
cinations, we  may  venture  safely  on  the  study  of  scripture ;  we  are 
in  no  danger  of  being  disturbed  by  it.  Sufficient  care  will  have 
been  taken  to  prevent  our  receiving  any  light  from  that  quarter, 
that  shall  serve  to  undeceive  us,  and  we  are  as  secure  as  any  Phar- 
isee whatever,  that  if  the  word  of  God  should  contradict  our  tradi- 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  43 

tions,  the  former  shall  give  place  to  the  latter,  and  be  rendered  of 
no  effect.  I  believe  there  are  few,  who  will  in  so  many  words  avow 
this  to  be  their  plan.  But  that  it  is,  in  fact,  the  plan  of  by  far  the 
greater  number  in  every  region  of  the  Christian  world,  the  effect 
but  too  plainly  demonstrates.  It  is  wonderful,  that  the  consequen- 
ces of  this  method  in  fixing  people  unalterably  in  the  opinions  good 
or  bad  which  were  first  infused  into  them,  and  in  making  them 
view  every  thing  in  that  light  only  which  will  favour  their  own  pre- 
possessions, have  not  opened  the  eyes  of  mankind  as  to  its  improprie- 
ty. Can  that  method  be  esteemed  a  good  one,  which  all  the  world 
sees,  or  may  see,  if  they  will,  is  equally  adapted  to  promote  truth  or 
error,  sense  or  nonsense;  which  makes  a  man  to  the  full  as  te- 
nacious of  positions  the  most  absurd,  as  of  those  that  are  most 
reasonable,  and  serves  to  pervert  the  only  rule,  acknowledged  by 
all  sides  to  be  unerring,  into  a  mere  engine  for  giving  authority  to 
the  visions  and  theories  of  any  dogmatist,  who  has  gotten  the  first 
possession  of  our  heads?  Is  it  not  in  consequence  of  this,  that 
those  of  other  denominations  are  astonished  to  find,  that  we  can- 
not discover  their  principtes  in  scripture,  and  that  we  are  just  as 
much  astonished  to  find,  that  they  cannot  there  discover  ours  ? 

But  I  am  aware  of  one  objection  my  doctrine  is  exposed  to, 
which  must  at  least  be  owned  to  be  specious.  If  so  many  men  of 
distinguished  learning  and  abilities  have  failed  in  the  attempt  of 
explaining  scripture,  and  forming  systems  of  the  Christian  revela- 
tion, how  can  I  (may  our  young  student  argue)  who,  in  comparison 
of  thcvse,  must  acknowledge  myself  to  be  both  illiterate  and  weak, 
hope  to  succeed  in  reaching  the  sense  of  holy  writ,  and  forming  to 
myself  a  digest  of  its  doctrine  ?  That  many  such,  as  are  now  men- 
tioned, have  failed  in  the  attempt,  is  manifest  from  this,  the  innu- 
merable systems  and  commentaries  extant^  which  in  many  things 
flatly  contradict  one  another,  whilst  each  author  supports  his  owit 
side  with  great  appearance  of  subtlety  and  display  of  erudition^ 
Were  this  objection  to  be  admitted  in  all  its  force,  I  know  not  by 
what  kind  of  logic  any  person  could  conclude  from  it,  that  it  were? 
better  to  choose  without  examining,  than  to  examine  before  we 
choose.  The  latter  may  be  right,  the  former  must  be  wrong.  That 
men  of  great  literary  fame  have  failed,  can  never  be  a  good  reason^ 
for  trusting  implicitly  to  such. 

But  I  insist  upon  it,  that  when  examined  to  the  bottom,  there 
will  not  be  found  so  much  in  the  objection,  as  is  supposed.  The 
usefulness  of  some  branches  of  learning  for  the  more  perfect  under- 


44  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

standing  of  scripture  is  indeed  undeniable.  Is  it  because  the  doe- 
trine  of  revelation  is  abstruse  and  metaphysical,  and  therefore  not 
to  be  apprehended  by  any,  who  have  not  been  accustomed  to  the 
most  profound  and  abstract  researches  ?  By  no  means.  The 
character,  which  holy  writ  gives  of  its  own  doctrine,  is  the  very 
reverse  of  this.  It  is  pure  and  plain,  such  as  "  enlighteneth  the 
eyes  and  maketh  wise  the  simple."  The  institution  to  be  given 
by  the  Messiah,  is  represented  by  the  prophets,  as  "  a  higtiway  so 
patent  that  the  way-faring  men  though  fools  should  not  mistake  it," 
and  as  an  intimation  written  in  so  large  and  legible  a  character 
"  that  he  who  runs  may  read."  And  Paul,  in  order  to  signify  to  us, 
that  there  was  nothing  of  difficult  investigation  in  this  doctrine, 
and  that  the  knowledge  of  it  was  easily  attainable  by  those  who 
were  willing  to  hear  and  learn  it  from  the  apostles  of  Christ,  says 
concerning  it,  "  The  righteousness  which  is  of  faith  speaketh  on 
this  wise.  Say  not  in  thine  heart  who  shall  ascend  into  heaven, 
(that  is,  to  bring  Christ  down  from  above)  or,  who  shall  descend 
into  the  deep  1  (that  is,  to  bring  up  Christ  again  from  the  dead.) 
But  what  saith  it?  The  word  is  nigh  thee,  even  in  thy  mouth  and 
in  thy  heart ;  that  is,  the  word  of  faith  which  we  preach."  And  in- 
deed the  apostle  doth  in  this,  but  apply  to  the  new  dispensation  the 
same  character  of  plainness  and  perspicuity,  which  Moses  had  for- 
merly affirmed  of  the  old.  "  This  commandment,"  said  he,"  which 
I  command  thee,  this  day,  it  is  not  hidden  from  thee,  neither  is 
it  far  off.  It  is  not  in  heaven,  that  thou  shouldst  say,  Who  shall 
go  up  for  us  to  heaven,  and  bring  it  unto  us,  that  we  may  hear  it 
and  do  it  ?  Neither  is  it  beyond  the  sea,  that  thou  shouldst  say. 
Who  shall  go  over  the  sea  for  us,  and  bring  it  unto  us,  that  we  may 
hear  it  and  do  it  ?  But  the  word  is  very  nigh  unto  thee,  in  thy 
mouth,  and  in  thy  heart,  that  thou  mayest  do  it."  Nor  indeed 
would  it  be  one  jot  less  absurd,  to  suppose,  that  in  order  to  attain 
this  divine  instruction  we  should  be  under  the  necessity  of  diving 
into  the  depths  of  human  systems,  rummaging  the  recesses  of  volu- 
minous commentators,  or  exploring  the  fine  spun  speculations  of  idle 
theorists,  than  that  we  should  be  obliged  to  scale  the  heavens  or  to 
cross  the  seas.  It  is  not  therefore  on  account  of  any  thing  abstruse 
or  difficult  in  the  matter  itself,  that  learning  is  of  importance  ;  nor 
is  it  for  the  acquisition  of  the  most  essential  truths,  which  are  ever 
the  most  perspicuous.  But  its  importance  to  the  theologian  ariseth 
from  these  two  considerations;  first,  that  he  may  be  qualified  for 
the  defence  of  religion  against  the  assaults,  to  which,  either   in 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  45 

whole  or  in  part,  it  is  exposed  from  its  adversaries ;  secondly,  that 
he  may  become  more  and  more  a  proficient  in  the  sacred  style  and 
idiom,  and  be  thereby  enabled  to  enter  with  greater  quickness  into 
ail  the  sentiments  of  the  inspired  writers.  The  languages  of  holy 
writ  are  now  dead  languages.  Learning  of  one  kind  is  necessary  to 
attain  an  acquaintance  with  them,  and  consequently  with  those 
things  which  they  contain,  however  perspicuously  expressed.  In 
the  infant  state  of  the  church,  miraculous  gifts,  especially  the  gift 
of  tongues,  and  that  of  prophecy,  superseded  the  necessity  of  hu- 
man learning  altogether.  Now  that  these  are  withdrawn,  we  can- 
not hope  to  be  perfectly  acquainted  with  the  mind  of  the  Spirit,  till 
by  the  use  of  the  ordinary  means,  which  God  hath  put  in  our  power 
and  requires  us  to  employ,  we  come  to  understand  the  language 
which  he  speaks.  And,  as  hath  been  observed  already,  the  history 
and  criticism,  which  we  have  recommended,  are  nothing  else,  but 
the  natural  aids  towards  such  a  proficiency  in  the  sacred  tongues. 
This  however  is  a  species  of  knowledge,  which  it  requires  no  ex- 
traordinary genius  or  talents  to  enable  us  to  attain.  Common  sense, 
time,  and  application,  will  do  the  business.  Eminent  talents,  if  they 
get  a  wrong  direction,  will  make  us  err  more  widely  than  we  should 
have  done  with  moderate  abilities.  In  travelling,  if  we  happen  to 
mistake  our  road,  the  swifter  our  motion  is,  we  shall  in  equal  time 
go  so  much  the  farther  wrong.  But  as  there  is  a  kind  of  learning, 
that  is  solid  and  useful  to  the  theologian,  there  is  a  kind  also,  which 
is  visionary  and  hurtful  to  him.  Of  this  sort  are  the  abstract  philos- 
ophy, the  ancient  dialectic  and  ontology,  which  universally  for  a  suc- 
cessfon  of  ages  reigned  in  the  schools  as  the  perfection  of  science, 
the  summit  of  human  wisdom ;  to  whose  usurped  authority  even 
the  Christian  theology  itself  hath  been  most  unnaturally  subjected, 
and  with  whose  chains  and  fetters  she  still  appears  more  or  less  en- 
cumbered in  all  the  most  celebrated  systems  of  our  different  sects. 
Disregarding  the  apostles'  warning,  men,  however  they  differed  in 
other  things,  seem  to  have  agreed  in  this,  in  "  spoiling  the  doctrine 
of  their  master,  with  philosophy  and  vain  deceit  after  the  traditions 
of  men,  after  the  rudiments  of  the  world,  and  not  after  Christ." 
This  artificial  logic  or  science  of  disputation  was  at  bottom  no 
other  than  a  mere  playing  with  hard  words,  used  indeed  grammati- 
cally and  according  to  certain  rules  established  in  the  schools,  but 
quite  insignificant,  and  therefore  incapable  of  conveying  knowledge. 
'Tis  in  the  language  of  our  poet, 

Vain  wisdom  all,  and  false  philosophy, 
6 


4&  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

and  in  the  still  more  emphatic  language  of  our  apostle,  "vain 
janglings  and  oppositions  of  science  falsely  so  called,  which  minister 
strife  and  contention,  but  tend  not  in  the  least  to  godly  edifying." 
Thus  much  I  thought  it  necessary  to  observe  in  order  to  prevent 
our  thinking  of  men  above  vi^hat  we  ought  to  think,  and  particularly 
Ho  prevent  our  valuing  them  for  those  acquisitions  which  were  in 
act  an  obstruction  to  their  advancement  in  spiritual  knowledge,  and 
not  a  furtherance. 

But  it  will  be  asked,  and  the  question  is  extremely  pertinent.  In 
what  manner  and  with  what  frame  of  spirit  ought  we  to  set  about 
the  examination  of  the  scriptures  ?  An  attention  to  this  is  of  so 
much  the  greater  consequence,  that  if  many  have  failed  in  this 
undertaking,  we  have  the  strongest  reason  to  believe,  that  the  fail- 
ure is  more  justly  chargeable  on  the  heart  than  on  the  head,  on  the 
want  of  that  disposition,  which  if  it  invariably  accompany  our  in- 
quiries, we  have  the  greatest  reason  to  hope  they  shall  be  crowned 
with  success.  The  first  thing,  then,  I  would  here  take  notice  of  as 
an  indispensable  requisite,  is  sincerity.-  By  this  1  mean,  an  habitual 
and  predominant  desire  in  the  inquirer  to  discover  in  scripture  not 
what  may  serve  to  authorize  his  own  ideas,  and  give  a  sanction  to 
the  cobwebs  of  his  own  fancy,  or  of  the  fancy  of  others  which  he 
has  adopted,  but  what  is  the  genuine  mind  and  will  of  God,  how- 
ever unacceptable  it  may  prove  to  flesh  and  blood,  in  order  that  he 
may  believe  and  practise  it.  It  is  this  which  our  Lord  hath  termed 
*'  a  single  eye,"  opposing  it  to  an  eye  that  is  vitiated  and  diseased, 
concerning  which  he  hath  assured  us,  that  "if  our  eye  be  single, 
our  whole  body  shall  be  full  of  light."  And  to  the  same  purpose 
it  is,  that  he  elsewhere  affirms  that  "  if  any  man  will  do  the  will  of 
God,  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine  whether  it  be  of  God."  If  this 
be  the  real,  the  primary  purpose  of  the  student's  inquiries,  he  shall 
have  no  reason  to  dread  success.  "  For  the  secret  of  the  Lord  is 
with  them  that  fear  him,  and  he  will  show  them  his  covenant."  It 
is  in  the  same  way  we  must  interpret  the  words  of  the  prophet, 
"None  of  the  wicked  shall  understand,  but  the  wise  shall  under- 
stand." The  term,  the  wise,  as  opposed  to  the  wicked,  it  is  well 
known,  doth  in  the  scripture  idiom  always  denote,  they  who  sincere- 
ly serve  and  honour  God ;  "  for  to  man  he  said,  Behold  the  fear 
of  the  Lord,  that  is  wisdom,  and  to  depart  from  evil  is  under- 
standing." 

The  second  quality  requisite  in  the   examiner  of  sacred  writ,  is 
humility.     This  is  to  be  understood  as  opposed   to  pride   and   an 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  47 

overweening  conceit  of  our  own  discernment  and  acutenoss,  than 
which  1  know  not  a  more  unteachable  quality  in  any  pupil.  *'  Seest 
thou  a  man  wise  in  his  own  conceit ;  there  is  more  hope  of  a  fool 
than  of  him."  As  this  disposition  of  humbleness  of  mind  leads  to 
a  modest  diffidence  of  oneself,  it  powerfully  inclines  on  the  other 
hand  to  recur  frequently  to  the  Father  of  lights,  by  fervent  prayer 
and  supplication,  for  light  and  guidance  in  his  way.  Those  pos- 
sessed of  this  engaging  frame  of  spirit,  are  characterized  in  holy 
writ  under  the  several  epithets  of  the  meek,  the  humble,  and  the 
lowly.  As  when  we  are  told,  that  "  God  will  guide  the  meek  in 
judgment,  and  the  meek  he  will  teach  his  way."  God  resisteth 
"the  proud,  but  giveth  grace  to  the  humble."  And  though  the 
Lord  be  "  high,  yet  he  hath  respect  to  the  lowly."  And  in  order  to 
inculcate  the  necessity  of  this  temper  in  every  genuine  disciple,  our 
Lord  hath  said,  "  Whosoever  will  not  receive  the  kingdom  of  God 
as  a  little  child,  shall  not  enter  therein."  The  apostle  employs  a 
still  bolder  figure,  where  he  says,  "  If  any  man  among  you  seemeth 
to  be  wise  in  this  world,  let  him  become  a  fool,  that  he  may  be 
wise." 

The  third  and  last  quality  I  shall  mention,  is  patience.  Nothing 
can  more  endanger  our  forming  false  conclusions  in  any  study, 
which  we  are  prosecuting,  than  impatience  and  precipitancy  in  our 
advances.  Our  very  zeal  and  ardour  itself,  which  is  a  commenda- 
ble quality  in  every  laudable  pursuit,  is  apt  to  mislead  us,  unless 
checked  by  this  virtue  as  a  bridle.  In  spiritual,  as  in  secular  mat- 
ters, God  requires  of  us  the  use  of  those  means,  which  he  hath  put 
in  our  power ;  and  to  serve  as  a  motive  to  our  obedience  in  this, 
he  hath  given  us  the  promise  of  his  Spirit  to  assist  us.  Now  all 
means  operate  gradually  ;  time  therefore  is  necessary,  which  re- 
quires patient  and  repeated  application.  And  as  to  the  promises 
which  God  hath  graciously  given  for  our  encouragement,  it  is  our 
duty  in  regard  to  this,  as  well  as  in  regard  to  every  other  promise, 
to  wait  patiently  on  him,  in  the  persuasion,  that  he  vvill  not  with- 
hold what  instruction  is  requisite,  any  more  than  other  good  things 
from  them  who  seek  him.  It  was  said  by  an  heathen  poet,  (Pfontv 
ci  rotx^n  ax,  u(r(pxXtig^  Those  who  are  in  haste  to  know,  seldom  take 
the  surest  road.  If  this  may  be  asserted  in  general,  much  more 
may  it  in  the  present  case.  The  young  student  is  so  much  exposed, 
both  from  what  he  hath  occasion  to  see,  and  from  what  he  hath 
occasion  to  hear,  to  have  the  opinions  of  others  obtruded  upon  him, 
before  he  is  in  a  capacity  to  decide,  that  it  is  not  easy  to  resist 


48  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

giving  perhaps  too  hasty  an  assent,  when  these  opinions  shall  appear 
to  be  plausibly  supported.  Nay  sometimes  his  good  qualities  them- 
selves, his  candour,  his  confidence  in  the  judgment  of  those  who 
are  older  and  wiser  than  himself,  may  betray  him  into  this  fault. 
But  he  ought  to  remember,  that  till  he  have  acquired  the*  first  prin- 
ciples of  the  critical  knowledge  of  the  sacred  idiom,  he  is  not,  in 
dubious  matters,  a  competent  judge  either  of  plausibility  or  truth. 
The  dogmatism  of  others,  instead  of  engaging  an  easier  assent, 
ought  to  render  their  opinions  the  more  suspected.  This  patient 
cautiousness  in  judging  will  be  also  an  excellent  guard  against  his 
being  seduced  by  an  immoderate  attachment  either  to  antiquity  or 
to  novelty ;  extremes  which  are  differently  affected  by  different 
tempers.  Some  are  more  ready  to  adopt  an  opinion  implicitly,  be- 
cause it  is  ancient,  others,  because  it  is  new.  Both  are  faulty, 
though  in  my  judgment  the  latter  is  the  greater  fault  of  the  two. 
Errors  may  doubtless  be  very  old,  that  there  are  many  such  we 
know;  but  truths  in  religion  natural  or  revealed  cannot  be  entirely 
new.  And  even  with  regard  to  the  explications  that  may  be  given 
of  particular  passages  of  scripture,  it  is  always  a  shrewd  presump- 
tion against  them,  if  there  is  reason  to  believe  that,  in  the  course  of 
so  many  centuries,  they  never  occurred  before.  At  the  same  time 
it  must  be  owned  on  the  other  hand,  that  no  prescription  can  be 
pleaded  for  any  tenets  whatever,  in  opposition  to  reason  and  to 
common  sense.  The  great  aim  of  scriptural  knowledge  is  to  clear 
the  truth  from  that  load  of  rubbish,  with  which  in  the  track  of  ages 
it  hath  been  in  a  great  measure  overwhelmed,  through  the  continued 
decline  of  piety  and  good  sense,  and  through  the  increase  of  barbar- 
ism, and  the  gradual  introduction  of  a  monstrous  species  of  super- 
stition, a  heterogeneous  and  motley  mixture  of  something  of  the 
form  of  Christianity  (whose  name  it  dishonoured)  with  the  beggarly 
elements  of  the  Jews,  and  the  idolatrous  fopperies  of  the  Pagans, 
whence  hath  resulted  a  general  character  of  more  inveterate  malig- 
nity, than  either  Judaism  or  Paganism  of  any  form  ever  manifested. 
And  notwithstanding  the  inestimable  advantages  which  we  derive 
from  the  reformation,  and  the  revival  of  letters  in  Europe,  we  have 
reason  still  to  talk  of  the  state  of  religion  in  our  day,  and  the  tincture 
it  retains  of  Romish  corruption  and  the  Romish  spirit,  in  much  the 
same  way  as  Horace  did  of  the  state  of  civilization  in  his, 

In  longum  tamen  aevum 
Manserunt,  hodieque  manent  vestigia  RomcB* 

*  The  vestiges  of  Rome  long  remained ;  and  they  still  remain. 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  49 

So  much  for  the  most  essential  characters  of  upright  intention, 
modest  diffidence,  and  patient  perseverance,  with  which  our  study 
of  holy  writ  ought  to  be  accompanied. 

The  next  thing  I  should  consider  is,  the  manner  in  which  we 
ought  to  prosecute  this  study,  that  we  may  most  effectually  attain  the 
end.  When  I  was  on  the  subject  of  the  Jewish  history,  I  observ- 
ed the  propriety  of  accompanying  the  reading  of  this,  as  we  have 
it  in  the  Old  Testament,  with  the  perusal  of  those  uninspired  wri- 
ters of  antiquity,  whose  subject  bore  any  relation  to  that  recorded 
in  the  sacred  text ;  and  particularly  I  recommended  the  careful 
reading  of  Josephus,  the  Jewish  historian.  1  observed  the  propri- 
ety of  parcelling  out  the  history  into  periods,  and  accustoming  your- 
selves to  compose  abstracts  of  them  severally  as  you  proceed, 
which  will  tend  at  once  greatly  to  increase  your  knowledge  of 
scripture,  to  improve  your  memory,  and  to  produce  very  useful 
habits  both  of  reflection  and  of  composition.  I  must  now  add,  that 
as  one  great  view  is  to  habituate  you  to  the  scripture  idiom,  you 
ought  not  to  satisfy  yourselves  with  reading  the  Bible  in  the  vul- 
gar translation,  but  ought  regularly  to  have  recourse  to  the  original. 
Though  you  should  prescribe  yourselves  but  a  small  portion  every 
day,  if  you  can  but  persevere  in  the  practice,  you  will  improve  very 
sensibly,  and  find  the  task  at  last  grow  very  easy.  The  portion  of  the 
Old  Testament  which  you  first  read  in  Hebrew,  I  would  have  you  next 
carefully  peruse  in  Greek  in  the  septuagint  translation.  Nothing  can 
be  of  greater  consequence  for  forming  the  young  student  to  a  thor- 
ough apprehension  of  the  style  of  the  New  Testament.  And  it  may 
be  worth  his  while  to  remark  the  most  considerable  differences  in 
these  two  principal  examplars  of  the  Old.  When  he  is  puzzled  as  to 
the  literal  or  grammatical  sense,  he  may  recur  to  some  other  trans- 
lation either  into  Latin  or  any  modern  language  which  he  happens  to 
understand.  This,  for  the  beginner,  is  a  much  better  method,  than 
to  recur  to  commentators.  To  canvass  the  reasonings  of  the  latter 
belongs  to  maturer  age,  and  is  proper  only  for  those,  who,  to  adopt  the 
style  of  the  apostle,  have,  by  reason  of  use,  their  senses  exercised  to 
discern  both  good  and  evil.  A  point  of  great  moment,  in  my  eyes, 
and  which  I  cannot  sufficiently  inculcate,  is  ever  to  give  scope  to 
the  student's  own  reflections,  and  not  (as  is  the  too  common  meth- 
od (to  preclude  all  reflections  of  his  own,  by  perpetually  obtruding 
upon  him  the  reflections  of  others.  He  must  not  conceive  study  to 
be  purely  the  furnishing  of  his  memory,  but  much  more  the  sharp- 
ening of  his  attention,  the  exercising  of  his  judgment,  and  theacqui- 


50  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

ing  a  habit  of  considering  every  subject  that  comes  under  his  review 
carefully  and  impartially  on  every  side.  When  the  young  student 
is  possessed  of  a  natural  good  taste  and  quickness  of  discernment, 
it  were  a  pity,  not  to  put  him  into  that  track,  which  might  qualify 
him  in  time  for  being  an  expositor  to  himself,  and  to  leave  him  in 
the  power  of  the  first  he  happens  to  meet  with,  or  at  least  of  that 
commentator  who  has  the  knack  of  setting  off  his  opinions  in  the 
most  plausible  manner.* 

But  left  to  himself  in  this  way,  will  he  not  be  liable  often  to  commit 
mistakes  ?  'Tis  probable  he  will,  and  what  then  ?  Can  you  insure 
him  against  them,  by  the  assistance  of  any  author  you  can  assign 
him  1  Besides,  the  mistakes  he  commits  through  the  exercise  of  his 
own  judgment  when  imperfect,  he  will  correct  as  his  judgment 
improves  ;  whereas  the  errors  he  falls  into  through  an  implicit  faith 
in  the  judgment  of  others,  are  confirmed  by  habit,  a  lazy  habit, 
which  effectually  prevents  that  improvement  of  the  judging  faculty, 
which  would  correct  them.  Would  you  never  trust  a  child  to  his 
own  legs,  would  you  always  carry  him  for  fear  he  should  fall?  If 
you  shall  use  him  thus,  till  he  arrive  at  manhood,  'tis  a  thousand  to 
one  he  shall  never  be  able  to  walk  in  his  life  time.  And  had  it 
not  been  better,  that  he  had  caught  a  thousand  falls,  and  been  al- 
lowed to  recover  himself  again  the  best  way  he  could,  than  that  he 
should  never  acquire  the  right  use  of  his  limbs  ?  And  is  not  the 
exercise  of  the  mental  faculties,  as  necessary  to  their  improvement, 
as  of  the  corporeal  1 

But  to  return  ;  another  method  I  would  recommend  to  our  young 
student  when  difficulties  occur  about  the  literal  sense  of  any  text, 
for  it  is  here  that  his  inquiries  should  begin,  let  him  consult  the 
parallel  places  in  scripture,  that  is,  those  passages  wherein  the 
same  subject  is  treated,  or  those  at  least,  wherein  there  is  some  al- 
lusion or  reference  to  it.  Another  useful  expedient  foT  bringing 
him  acquainted  with  the  idiom  of  the  sacred  writers,  and  for  habit- 
uating him  to  read  with  attention,  and  to  judge  with  proper  cir- 
cumspection is,  as  he  proceeds  in  his  study,  to  mark  the  different 
senses  in  which  some  of  the  principal  words  occur  in  scripture,  and 
the  particular  circumstances  in  the  context,  which  serve  to  deter- 
mine the  sense.  For  assisting  him  in  acquiring  a  more  perfect 
knowledge  of  the  Jewish  polity  and  customs,  there  are  several 
pieces  which  will  be  of  use,  besides  those  I  have  had  occasion  for- 
merly to  mention.     Such  are  Vitringa  De  Synagoga  vetere,   Re- 

*  See  note  at  the  end  of  this  lecture,  p.  54. 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  Hfjl 

land  de  rebus  sacris  Judeorum,  Lewis'  Antiquities  of  the  Hehreuf 
RepuhliCf  Godwin's  Moses  and  Aaron,  Cunceus  de  republica  He* 
rmrum,  Bertram  de  republica  Judaica,  Buxtorf's  Lexicon  talmudi' 
cum,  which  may  be  consulted  occasionally  where  it  can  be  had^ 
and  for  their  modern  customs,  the  last  mentioned  author's  Synago^ 
ga  Judaica.  As  greater  proficiency  is  made,  recourse  may  be  had 
to  Seldcn  and  Spencer.  Afterwards  the  scholia  on  the  New  Testa- 
ment of  such  a  writer  as  Lightfoot  may  be  consulted,  who  has  par- 
ticularly applied  himself  to  turn  his  Hebrew  and  Rabbinical  learn- 
ing to  the  enlightening  of  the  sacred  scriptures,  and  which  he  has 
for  that  reason  named  Horse  Hebraicae  et  Talmudicae.  I  do  not 
name  so  many  authors,  as  thinking  it  of  importance  that  you  should 
see  and  read  them  all,  but  because  it  may  fall  in  the  way  of  some 
of  you  to  light  on  one  of  them,  and  others  on  another,  that  you  might 
take  the  opportunity  when  you  can.  .For  if  you  should  not  hap- 
pen to  meet  with  any  of  these  for  some  time,  lam  far  from  thinking 
that  great  progress  may  not  be  made  by  your  own  application  only, 
with  the  assistance  of  the  original  languages,  and  the  translation  of 
the  Septuagint  above  mentioned.  I  would  never  have  any  young 
man,  who  has  a  tolerable  capacity,  and  is  willing  to  use  it,  to  be 
discouraged  for  want  of  books. 

I  put  you  upon  a  method  formerly  of  making  an  abstract  of  the 
sacred  history,  as  you  advance  in  your  reading ;  I  come  now  to 
suggest  what  may  be  of  use  for  forming  to  yourselves  an  abstract  of 
the  doctrine  of  holy  writ.  This  task  indeed  requires  much  greater 
proficiency  than  the  former,  and  therefore  ought  by  no  means  to  be 
so  early  undertaken.  The  former  may  be  executed  gradually  a& 
you  proceed  in  reading ;  by  composing  a  narrative  of  the  principal 
events  in  each  period  immediately  after  you  have  read  the  history 
of  it  in  the  Bible,  and  before  you  begin  to  peruse  the  account  of 
the  succeeding.  But  as  to  a  summary  of  doctrine,  one  ought  to  be 
pretty  well  versed  in  the  whole  scriptures  both  of  Old  and  New 
Testaments,  before  he  attempt  it.  When  the  student  sets  about  a 
design  of  this  kind,  he  may  pursue  some  such  method  as  the  fol- 
lowing. As  God  is  the  great  object  of  religious  worship  and  ser- 
vice, it  is  proper  to  begin  with  inquiring,  what  is  the  doctrine  of 
sacred  writ  concerning  the  divine  nature  and  perfections.  Let  him 
take  the  assistance  of  a  concordance  when  his  memory  fails,  and 
carefully  collate  all  the  clearest  and  most  explicit  passages  on  eve- 
ry several  topic,  extracting  from  the  whole  a  brief  summary  of 
what  relates  both  to  the  natural  and  moral  attributes  of  the  Deity, 


53  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

as  they  are  commonly,  though  not  so  properly,  distinguished,  such 
as  the  spirituality,  unity,  eternity,  immutability,  and  sovereignty  of 
God,  his  omniscience,  omnipotence,  omnipresence,  his  wisdom, 
justice,  truth,  and  goodness.  In  expressing  what  relates  to  each  of 
these,  let  him  adhere  as  close  as  possible  to  the  style  of  scripture, 
only  avoiding  metaphorical  and  figurative  expressions,  and  render- 
ing these,  where  he  meets  with  them,  by  the  plainest  and  simplest 
terms  which  can  convey  the  sense.  Let  him  next  proceed  to  the 
doctrine  of  holy  writ,  concerning  the  creation  of  the  world  and  the 
divine  providence.  Let  him  still  in  the  same  manner,  and  with  the 
scriptures  alone  for  his  rule  and  guide,  consider  in  the  third  place 
human  nature,  particularly  noting  what  is  delivered  concerning 
these  three  articles,  the  state  of  man  immediately  after  the  creation, 
the  fall,  and  its  consequences.  The  fourth  point  will  be  the  doc- 
trine concerning  the  Messiah,  or  Son  of  God,  all  which  may  be  com- 
prised under  these  articles,  his  pre-existence  and  divinity,  his  state 
of  suffering,  including  his  incarnation,  his  character,  his  ministry 
on  earth,  his  death  and  burial,  and  thirdly,  his  succeeding  state  of 
glory,  including  his  resurrection,  ascension,  exaltation,  and  second 
coming,  together  with  the  purposes  which  the  several  particulars 
were  intended  to  answer.  The  fifth  point  will  be  the  doctrine  con- 
cerning the  Holy  Spirit,  which  may  be  all  comprised  in  two  arti- 
cles, what  he  is,  and  what  he  does.  The  sixth  point,  which  in  the 
order  of  nature  should  immediately  follow  the  mediation  of  the  Son 
and  ministration  of  the  Spirit,  is  that  great  end  to  which  both  are  di- 
rected, the  regeneration  or  recovery  of  man.  On  this  head  may  be 
considered,  the  external  means,  their  use,  their  difference  under 
different  dispensations,  and  their  connexion  with  the  effect  produ- 
ced. The  seventh  point  will  be  the  doctrine  concerning  the  world 
to  come.  This  may  be  subdivided  into  five  articles,  the  intermedi- 
ate state  between  death  and  the  resurrection,  the  general  resurrec- 
tion, the  future  judgment,  heaven  and  hell.  The  eighth  and  last 
point,  the  doctrine  which  scripture  gives  concerning  itself,  compre- 
hending two  articles,  first  what  is  scripture,  secondly,  what  is  its 
authority.  The  eighth  general  heads  (which  for  memory's  sake  I 
shall  repeat)  are  the  following,  God,  the  creation,  man,  the  Son  of 
God,  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  regeneration,  the  world  to  come,  the 
scrijjtures. 

In  framing  the  compendious  digest  above  proposed,  there  are 
some  things,  which  I  would  have  the  student  particularly  careful 
of.     The  first  is,  not  to  have  recourse  to  any  human,  that  is  to  say 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  53 

any  foreign  aid  whatever,  but  to  confine  himself  entirely  to  the  re- 
vealed word.  He  must  have  it  deeply  rooted  in  his  mind,  that  the 
question,  he  is  concerned  in  resolving,  is  not  what  is  the  doctrine  of 
this  or  the  other  learned  man,  of  this  or  the  other  sect  or  party,  but 
what,  to  the  best  of  his  judgment,  is  the  doctrine  of  the  sacred  vol- 
ume. What  have  I  to  do,  should  he  say,  to  take  this  doctrine  up- 
on trust  and  at  second  hand,  when  I  have  access  to  the  fountain  it- 
self? If  this  book  was  given  of  God  as  a  rule  to  all  men,  it  must  be 
in  things  essential,  level  to  the  capacity  of  all.  Shall  I  take  the 
mind  of  the  Creator  on  the  report  of  the  creature,  when,  if  I  will 
I  have  the  opportunity  of  hearing  the  voice  of  the  Creator  himself? 
The  second  thing  is,  not  to  indulge  a  disposition  to  speculate  on 
points,  which  cannot  with  any  propriety  be  said  to  be  revealed. 
Sometimes  events  are  mentioned,  and  a  profound  silence  is  observ- 
ed as  to  the  cause.  Sometimes  we  are  told  of  operations,  but  not  a 
word  of  the  manner  of  conducting  them.  Our  information  goes 
just  so  far  and  no  farther.  It  is  of  the  nature  of  our  present  state, 
and  coincides  with  the  design  of  our  author,  that  here  we  should 
know  in  part  only,  that  here  we  should  see  darkly  as  through  a 
glass.  Let  us  not  vainly  seek  to  be  wise  in  divine  things,  above 
what  is  written.  Let  us  ever  stop  where  revelation  stops;  and  not 
pretend  to  move  one  single  inch  beyond  it.  It  is  chiefly  by  indulg- 
ing the  contrary  practice,  and  giving  way  to  the  airy  excursions  of 
an  inventive  imagination,  that  all  our  system-builders,  without  ex- 
ception, have  more  or  less  wandered  from  the  mark.  The  question 
which  I  have  to  resolve  (the  student  ought  thus  to  argue  with  him- 
self) is  not  what  doctrine  I  should  think  reasonable  or  probable, 
but  what  is  the  doctrine  contained  in  this  book  ?  However  differ- 
ent therefore  in  other  respects,  it  is  as  much  a  question  of  fact,  what 
is  the  doctrine  of  the  Bible,  as  it  would  be,  if  I  were  to  be  interro- 
gated concerning  the  doctrine  of  Mahomet's  Alcoran  or  Zoroaster's 
Zend.  Nor  can  I  ever  think  myself  more  at  liberty,  by  philosophiz- 
ing after  my  manner,  to  adulterate  with  my  reveries  the  doctrine  of 
Jesus  Christ,  than  I  should  think  myself  at  liberty  to  treat  thus  the 
system  either  of  the  military  prophet  of  the  Musselmans,  or  of  the 
Persian  sage.  It  is  the  contrary  practice,  which  hath  so  miserably 
sophisticated  the  Christian  scheme,  and  rendered  many  of  our  the- 
ological controversies  mere  logomachies,  or  no  other  than  doting 
about  questions  and  strifes  of  words,  in  which,  if  the  terms  were 
properly  defined  and  understood,  the  difference  would  vanish. 
7 


Sf4  ^        CAMPBELLS  LECTURES. 

There  are  not  a  few  of  them  in  like  manner,  and  those  too  the  most 
hotly  agitated,  of  which  it  may  be  said  with  the  greatest  justice, 
that  scripture  is  of  neither  side,  having  never  so  much  as  entered 
into  the  question.  The  third  thing  I  would  have  him  attend  to,  is 
to  keep  as  near  as  possible  to  scripture  style,  only  preferring  prop- 
er to  figurative  expressions,  and  using  those  words  which  are  the 
plainest,  and  of  the  most  definite  signification.  Above  all,  he 
ought  to  avoid  the  use  of  technical  terms  and  phrases,  which,  it 
may  be  alleged,  gives  a  learned  dress  to  religion ;  but  it  is  a  dress 
that  very  ill  befits  an  institution  intended  for  the  comfort  and  direc- 
tion of  all  even  of  the  lowest  ranks.  It  is  besides  but  too  manifest, 
that  this  garb  is  often  no  other,  than  a  cloak  for  ignorance.  And 
of  all  kinds  of  ignorance,  learned  ignorance  is  undoubtedly  the  most 
contemptible. 

I  shall  consider  next  the  manner  in  which  the  student  may  at- 
tempt a  compend  of  the  Christian  ethics ;  and  consider  the  advan- 
tages that  will  result  to  him,  in  being  pretty  much  employed  in  such 
exercises. 


NOTE    REFERRED    TO    IN    PAGE    50. 

As  a  specimen  of  the  manner  of  study  above  recommended,  and 
as  an  instance  of  its  advantages,  it  may  not  be  improper  to  subjoin 
a  criticism  of  Dr.  Campbell's,  on  a  passage  in  the  epistle  to  the  He- 
brews. The  investigation  is  exhibited  so  clearly  and  fully,  that  it 
will  show  by  the  teacher's  own  example  and  success,  the  benefit 
which  the  student  may  reasonably  expect  from  an  observance  of  his 
rules.  Juvat  usque  morari  et  confen'e  gradum.  The  passage  is 
Heb.  iii.  5.  Moses  verily  was  faithful  in  all  his  house,  as  a  servant. 
When  I  consider  the  scope  of  the  apostle  in  this  chapter,  I  perceive 
clearly  an  intention  to  compare  the  two  great  legislators  whom  God 
had  sent  into  the  world,  first,  Moses,  then  Jesus  Christ,  not  in  respect 
of  the  personal  virtues  which  they  exhibited,  but  in  respect  of  the 
dignity  of  station  or  rank  to  which  they  were  raised.  In  respect  of 
virtue,  there  is  no  contrast  at  all  in  the  passage ;  as  indeed  in 
what  regards  a  trust,  nothing  greater  can  be  said  of  any  one  than 
is  said  of  Moses,  that  he  was  faithful.  And  so  far  is  that  which  fol- 
lows, to  wit,  that  Moses  was  only  a  servant,  Jesus  Christ  the  Son  and 
heir,  from  giving  the  superiority  in  point  of  merit  to  the  latter  ;  that,, 
as  is  universally  allowed,  the  less  a  man  has  of  pei-sonal  interest,  in 
the  subject  intrusted  him,  the  greater  is  the  virtue  of  his  fidelity. 
But  the  whole  scope  of  the  apostle  sufficiently  shows,  that  in  noth- 
ing are  the  two  great  lawgivers  above  mentioned  meant  to  be  com- 
pared, but  in  title,  office,  and  rank.     As  no  doubt  can  be  made  of  the 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  55 

entire  faithfulness  of  both,  it  appears  like  a  deviation  from  the  scope 
of  the  argument,  to  mention  this  virtue  at  all.  But  can  any  thing 
be  clearer  or  more  unexceptionable  than  the  common  version,  Moses 
was  faithful,  MofTng  f4.iv  Tri^og  ?  Notwithstanding  its  clearness,  not- 
w^ithstanding  its  commonness,  I  may  almost  say,  its  universality,  I  can- 
not help  entertaining  some  doubts  concerning  it.  The  apostle  has,  in 
treating  this  topic,  a  manifest  allusion  to  a  passage  in  the  Pentateuch, 
in  w^hich,  on  occasion  of  the  sedition  of  Aaron  and  Miriam,  God 
says.  Numb.  xii.  6,  &c.  If  there  be  a  prophet  among  you,  I  the  Lord 
will  make  myself  known  unto  him  in  a  vision,  and  will  speak  unto  him 
in  a  dream.  My  servant  Moses  is  not  so,  ivho  is  faithful  in  all  mine 
house.  This  passage  plainly  gives  room  for  the  same  suspicion.  The 
scope  of  the  place  is  manifestly  to  show  the  superior  privileges  of 
Moses,  through  the  favour  of  God,  to  those  of  any  other  prophet, 
and  not  his  superior  virtues.  The  words  that  follow  make  this,  if 
possible,  still  more  glaring,  v.  8.  With  him  will  I  speak,  mouth  to 
mouth,  even  apparently,  and  not  in  dark  speeches :  and  the  similitude  of 
the  Lord  shall  he  behold.  Wherefore  then  were  ye  not  afraid  to  speak 
against  my  servant  Moses  ?■  Nothing  can  be  plainer,  than  that  the 
intention  is  here  to  show  not  the  virtue,  but  the  prerogative  of  Moses, 
above  all  other  prophets  under  that  dispensation,  as  it  is  the  intention 
of  the  writer  to  the  Hebrews  to  show  the  prerogative  of  Jesus  Christ 
above  Moses.  And  for  this  reason,  I  suspect  that  the  word  is  not 
rightly  rendered,  faithful,  in  the  passage  quoted  from  Numbers. 

That  I  may  discover,  if  possible,  whether  my  suspicion  is  well 
founded,  I  shall  first  recur  to  the  place  in  the  version  of  the  Seventy, 
where  the  expression,  about  which  the  doubt  arises,  is  the  same  as  in 
the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews :  o  ^i^xTcav  (a^  Mav<rn<;  sv  oXa  reo  ciica  fus 
9r<5-oj  8r<v.  Yet,  there  is  here  no  comparative'  view  of  virtues,  but 
only  of  honours  and  privileges  ;  nothing  is  said  tending  to  derogate 
from  the  faithfulness  of  any  other  prophet.  Nor  does  gv  hXa  tm  oitca 
fcH  make  the  smallest  addition  in  this  respect ;  for,  as  our  Lord  hath 
said,  "  He  who  is  faithful  in  little  will  be  faithful  also  in  much ; 
and  he  who  is  unfaithful  in  little,  will  be  unfaithful  also  in  much." 
Yet,  if  in  our  interpretations,  we  are  to  be  determined  solely  by  the 
classical  use,  it  is  hardly  possible  to  conceive  how  ^i^og  can  be  ren- 
dered otherwise  into  English  than  by  the  term  faithful. 

I  therefore  find  it  necessary,  in  the  last  place,  to  recur  to  the  He- 
brew. There  I  find  the  word  .rendered  ri^og,  is  neeman,  which  has 
not  only  the  signification  oP  faithfid,  but  being  the  passive  participle 
of  the  verb,  aman,  to  believe,  signifies  also,  trusted,  charged  with,  and 
thence  also,  fi-m,  stable,  &c.  Now  as  the  sense  of  Greek  words  in 
Hellenistic  use  is  often  affected  by  the  Hebrew,  the  word,  ri^og,  has 
this  meaning  in  several  passages  of  the  Septuagint.  See  for  an  ex- 
ample of  this  1  Sam.  iii.  20,  where  the  words,  on  7ci<;-og  ^otf^^nX  ug 
Tr^o^pyiTYiv  ra  xv^i&>,  are  rendered  in  the  English  translation,  that  Samuel 
ivas  established,  to  be  a  prophet  of  the  Lord.  The  translators  have 
made  a  reference  to  the  margin  on  the  word  established,  adding  there, 
or,  faithful.  The  same  term  both  in  Hebrew  and  Greek  is  rendered 
Psalm  Ixxxix.  28,  by  the  English  word  fast.      My  covenant  shall 


56  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

standfast  with  him.  The  expression  in  Numbers,  to  which  the  Apos- 
tle to  the  Hebrev/s  refers,  is  thus  rightly  rendered  by  Castalio.  At  cum 
Most  meoy  non  item,  cui  totius  mecE  domus  fides  hahetur.  And  by  Hou- 
bigant,  J^on  ita  servus  mens  Moyses.  llle  univers<B  domus  mem  minister 
est  perpetuus.  In  his  notes  he  adds,  neeman,  stabilis,  non  autem,  fidelis. 
"  Enimvero  hie  describitur  Moyses  ex  perpetuitate  prophetise,  non 
ex  morum  jfidelitate.  Ita  rem  intelligebat  Paulus  Apost.  ubi  postquam 
testimonio  hujus  loci  usus  est,  addit  continenter,  amplioris  enim  gloricE 
iste  pr(E  Moyse  dignus  habitus  est ;  gloriam  glorise  comparans ; 
Christi  Domini  cum  Moysis.  Et  claudicaret  similitudo,  si  gloriam 
Christi  cum  Mosis  fidelitate  compararet." 

In  order  to  give  a  more  distinct  view  of  the  light,  which  the  above 
mentioned  alteration  throws  upon  the  passage,  I  shall  offer  an  exact 
version  of  the  whole  paragraph,  being  the  first  six  verses  of  the  third 
chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  To  take  such  a  view  of  the 
whole  in  connection,  is  often  necessary,  as  much  for  the  better  ex< 
plaining  of  the  import  of  a  criticism,  as  for  evincing  its  solidity. 
"  Wherefore,  holy  brethren,  partakers  of  the  heavenly  calling,  consider 
the  apostle  and  high  priest  of  our  religion,  Jesus  Christ,  who,  as  well 
as  Moses,  was  by  him  who  raised  him  to  that  dignity,  intrusted  with  all 
his  house.  But  who  hath  attained  honour  as  far  superior  to  that  of 
Moses,  as  the  glory  of  the  builder  is  greater  than  that  of  the  house.  For 
every  house  hath  been  built  by  some  person  ;  but  he  who  built  all  things  is 
God.  And  Moses  ivas  indeed  trusted  as  a  servant,  for  publishing  to 
all  God's  family  whatever  he  had  in  charge  :  but  Christ  is  trusted  as  a 
son  over  his  own  family  ;  whose  family  we  are,  provided  we  maintain 
our  profession  and  boasted  hope,  unshaken  to  the  end.''''  Nothing  can 
be  more  evident  than  that  it  is  the  sole  intention  of  this  writer  to 
compare  the  dignities  of  station,  not  the  virtues,  of  Moses  and  Christ, 
the  two  founders  of  the  only  divine  dispensations  of  religion,  the 
Jewish  and  the  Christian.  He  admits  that  Moses  as  well  as  Christ, 
may  be  justly  said  to' have  been  intrusted,  not  with  a  part  only,  but 
with  all  God's  house  ;  and  that,  in  this  respect  Moses  had  a  very  great 
pre-eminence  above  all  the  other  prophets  of  that  dispensation  ;  but 
in  regard  to  Christ,  though  it  might  be  said  his  charge  was  the  same 
in  point  of  extent — the  whole  house  of  God — the  trust  committed 
to  him  was  in  its  nature  greatly  superior.  Moses  was  trusted  with 
the  whole,  but  it  was  only  aq  ^ifX'ruv,  like  a  steward,  who  is  no  more 
than  an  upper  servant  in  the  family,  but  Jesus  Christ  as  a  son,  who 
is  the  heir  of  all. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  here  to  take  notice  of  the  circumstances 
which  first  suggested  to  me  the  criticism  now  made,  or  rather,  as  I 
may  justly  say,  which  first  occasioned  my  lighting  upon  the  sense  of 
this  passage.  By  carefully  retracing  the  steps  in  consequence  where- 
of we  have  arrived  at  any  discovery,  we  take  the  most  probable  means 
of  suggesting  to  others  a  method  by  which  future  discoveries  maybe 
made.  The  faithfulness  of  Moses,  as  mentioned  both  here  and  in 
the  Pentateuch,  had  oflen  appeared  to  me  foreign  from  the  scope  of 
the  context,  which  related  in  both  places  solely  to  the  excellency  of 
the  office,  not  to  the  worthiness  of  the  officer.     At  the  same  time  I 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  57 

did  not  Bee  how  7r<«-<J?  could  be  translated  otherwise  than  faithful. 
I  found  it  so  rendered  in  all  the  versions  of  the  New  Testament  I 
had  consulted,  Castalio's  not  excepted.  But  then  I  had  recourse  to 
Castalio's  version  of  the  Old  Testament,  for  the  interpretation  of  the 
passage  alluded  to,  I  found  the  rendering  totally  different,  and  such  as 
perfectly  suited  the  scope  of  the  argument.  It  implied  solely,  that 
to  Moses  had  been  committed  the  charge  of  all  God's  house  ;  a 
charge  so  weighty,  as  had  never  been  committed  to  any  prophet  be- 
fore him,  nor  indeed  to  any  prophet  after  him  under  that  dispensa- 
sion.  This  led  me  to  look  into  the  Septuagint,  where  I  found  the 
term  tci^oi;  employed,  as  it  was  afterwards  by  the  apostle,  who  (as  usual) 
copied  the  words  of  that  version.  My  next  recourse  was  to  the  Hebrew, 
where  I  found  the  origin  of  the  error  lay  in  the  ambiguity  of  a  Hebrew 
participle,  which  even  analogically  should  signify  cuifdes  habetur,  rath- 
er than  qui f  delis  est.  Castalio,  though  sensible  of  this  in  translating  the 
Hebrew  word  neeman,  did  not  think  he  could  render  in  the  same  man- 
ner the  Greek  7rt?-og.  Yet  it  is  one  of  the  chief  peculiarities  of  the  idiom 
of  the  synagogue,  that  the  Greek  words  have  in  it  an  extent  of  significa- 
tion corresponding  to  that  of  the  Hebrew  words  which  they  are  em- 
ployed to  represent.  I  was  not  at  that  time  acquainted  with  the  trans- 
lation of  the  Old  Testament  by  Houbigant,  who  has  signified  in  a  note 
on  the  passage  in  the  Pentateuch,  that  the  words  of  the  apostle  ought 
to  be  understood  and  interpreted  in  the  same  manner.  This,  together 
with  many  other  examples  which  might  be  brought,  serves  to  confirm 
an  observation  I  have  made  in  another  place,  that  to  understand  per- 
fectly the  language  of  the  New  Testament,  the  knowledge  of  Hebrew 
is  almost  as  necessary  as  that  of  Greek. 


LECTURE   IV 


l)irections  for  forming  a  System  of  Christian   Morality.    Advantages  of  the 
Method  recommended. 

In  my  last  lecture,  1  made  it  my  business  to  point  out  a  proper 
method  for  conducting  the  study  of  holy  writ,  in  such  a  manner, 
as  that  from  it  the  student  may  form  to  himself,  uninfluenced  by 
the  opinions  of  fallible  men,  a  digest  of  the  truth,  as  it  is  in  Jesus. 
I  purpose  in  the  present  discourse,  to  shew  how  he  may  proceed  to 
form  a  system  of  Christian  morality.  This,  though  properly  first 
in  intention,  (for  we  seek  knowledge  to  direct  our  practice)  is  last 
in  execution  ;  it  being  that,  to  which  every  other  part  in  this  econ- 
omy points,  as  to  its  ultimate  end.  The  great  and  primary  aim  of 
the  whole  is  to  renew  us  again  after  the  image  of  him  that  created 


68  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

us,  in  righteousness  and  true  holiness ;  faith  itself,  and  hope,  how- 
ever important,  act  in  a  subserviency  to  this.  It  may  indeed  be 
thought,  that  as  there  are  much  fewer  disputes  concerning  the  du- 
ties required  by  our  religion,  than  concerning  the  doctrines  which 
it  teaches,  the  examination  of  the  former,  as  the  easier  task,  ought 
to  precede  the  examination  of  the  latter.  And  indeed  this  remark 
would  have  so  far  weighed  with  me,  that  if  I  had  judged  it  expedi- 
ent to  begin  our  inquiries  into  the  Christian  theology  by  the  study 
of  systematic  and  controversial  writers,  I  should  have  adopted  this 
method,  on  account  of  its  greater  simplicity  and  easiness.  But  if, 
waving  for  a  time  all  attentions  to  the  comments,  glosses,  traditions, 
questions,  and  refinements  of  men,  recourse  is  had  only  to  the  di- 
vine oracles,  there  is  not  the  same  necessity  ;  the  difference  in 
point  of  difficulty,  if  any,  will  be  found  inconsiderable ;  on  the  oth- 
er hand,  the  progression  from  knowledge  to  faith,  from  faith  to  love, 
from  love  to  obedience,  is  more  conformable  to  the  natural  influ- 
ence of  things  upon  the  human  mind.  Besides,  the  subject  of 
Christian  morals  is  not  without  its  difficulties  nor  its  controversies, 
though  they  have  been  neither  so  great  nor  so  many,  as  those  which 
have  been  raised  in  relation  to  several  points  supposed  to  belong  to 
the  Christian  doctrine.  But  even  this  subject  is  not  in  all  respects 
uncontroverted ;  witness  the  many  differences  in  point  of  practice 
that  not  only  subsist,  but  are  warmly  contested  by  the  different 
sects  in  Christendom,  one  party  thinking  he  doth  God  good  ser- 
vice, by  an  action  which  another  looks  on  with  abhorrence,  and 
justly  stigmatizes  as  at  once  impious  and  inhuman.  With  how 
many  still,  are  matters  of  full  as  little  account,  as  tithing  mint, 
anise  and  cummin,  exalted  above  the  weightier  matters  of  the  law, 
justice,  mercy  and  fidelity  ?  It  is  sacrificed  with  some,  which  with 
others  is  accounted  sacrilege  ;  and  in  too  many  places  of  what  is 
called  the  Christian  world,  those  absurd  austerities  and  self-inflict- 
ed cruelties,  which  degrade  human  nature,  dishonor  religion,  and 
could  only  become  the  worshippers  of  da3mons,  such  as  Baal  or  Mo- 
loch, are  extolled  as  the  sublimity  of  Christian  perfection.  I  men- 
tion these  things  only  by  the  way,  in  order  to  show  that  the  una- 
nimity among  Christians,  in  regard  to  moral  duties,  is  not  so  com- 
plete, as  is  commonly  imagined.  Not  that  I  would  have  the  stu- 
dent at  first  to  enter  into  these  questions  in  relation  to  morality 
any  more  than  into  such  as  are  of  a  speculative  nature  and  relate 
to  doctrine.  Let  it  be  his  first  aim  in  both  provinces,  to  inquire  im- 
partially into  the  mind  of  the  spirit,  as  it  appears  in  revelation  itself. 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  59 

without  admitting  any  interruption  from  the  visions  and  specula- 
tions of  men.  Something  of  a  plan  or  outline  has  been  suggested, 
to  assist  him  in  his  inquiries  into  the  doctrine  of  scripture ;  it  will 
not  be  improper  to  proceed  in  the  same  way  in  what  regards  the 
system  of  duty  which  may  be  collected  from  the  same  volume. 
Only  it  will  be  proper  to  premise,  that  though  the  law  of  the  gos- 
pel be  not  as  was  the  law  of  Moses,  what  the  apostle  styles  a  law 
of  commandments  or  a  law  of  ordinances,  yet  there  are  some  things 
(as  is  absolutely  necessary  in  every  religious  institution  calculated 
for  a  creature  such  as  man)  of  a  ceremonial ,  and  some  of  a  mixed 
nature  partly  ceremonial  and  partly  moral,  as  well  as  some  things 
purely  moral.  Of  the  first  kind  are  what  we  now  call  the  Chris- 
tian sacraments,  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper ;  of  the  second, 
what  regards  social  and  public  worship  and  the  separation  of  par- 
ticular times  for  the  purpose  ;  and  of  the  third,  all  the  duties  di- 
rectly comprehended  under  charity  or  the  love  of  God  and  man. 
As  to  the  doctrine  of  the  New  Testament  in  regard  to  the  two 
first,  I  meant  to  comprehend  them  under  the  sixth  head  of  the 
sketch  I  gave  in  relation  to  the  Christian  doctrine,  which  I  term- 
ed the  regeneration  or  the  recovery  of  man.  Under  this  was  com- 
prised the  consideration  of  the  external  means,  their  use,  their  dif- 
ference under  different  dispensations,  and  their  connection  with 
the  effect  to  be  produced.  The  subject  to  which  I  here  confine 
myself  is  Christian  morality,  or  the  pure  ethics  of  the  gospel.  Ev- 
ery thing  that  is  of  a  positive  nature  falls  much  more  properly  un- 
der the  former  part.  In  regard  to  this,  it  is  evident,  that  different 
methods  may  be  adopted  for  classing  the  different  branches  of  duty, 
and  there  may  be  a  conveniency  in  viewing  the  same  subject  in  a 
variety  of  lights. 

The  only  method  which  1  shall  take  notice  of  at  present,  and 
which  is  both  the  simplest  and  the  most  obvious,  is  that  which  re- 
sults from  the  consideration  of  the  object,  God^  our  neighbour j  and 
ourselves.  This  division  the  apostle  Paul  has  given  of  our  duty  in 
a  passage  well  deserving  the  Christian's  most  serious  attention,  a? 
intimating  the  great  and  ultimate  end  of  the  gospel  dispensation: 
"  The  grace  of  God,"  says  he,  **  that  bringeth  salvation,  hath  ap- 
peared to  all  men,  teaching  us,  that  denying  ungodliness  and  world- 
ly lusts,  we  should  live  soberly  and  righteously  and  godly  in  this 
present  world,  looking  for  that  blessed  hope  and  the  glorious  ap- 
pearing of  the  great  God  and  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  who  gave 
himself  for  us,  that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,  and,  puri- 


GO  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

fy  unto  himself  a  peculiar  people  zealous  of  good  works."  The 
whole  of  Christian  morality  is  here  divided  into  three  great  branch- 
es, sohricty,  or  the  duty  which  every  man  owes  to  himself,  and 
which  consists  in  what  we  may  call  self  government  in  the  largest 
acceptation  of  the  word,  implying  two  great  articles,  a  due  com- 
mand, first  of  appetite,  secondly  of  passion  ;  which  we  may  distin- 
guish by  the  titles  of  temperance  and  moderation,  the  former  as  it 
stands  opposed  to  these  vices,  intemperance,  incontinence,  and 
sloth,  which  are  different  branches  of  voluptuousness  ;  the  latter  as 
it  stands  opposed  to  pride,  anger,  avarice,  and  the  love  of  life,  be- 
ing distinguished  by  these  several  names,  humility,  meekness,  con- 
tentment and  fortitude. 

Again,  the  second  general  branch  into  which  the  Christian  moral- 
ity is  divided,  is  righteousness y  or  that  duty  which   every  man  owes 
to  all  mankind.     This  may  be  subdivided  from  a  regard  to  what  is 
implied  in  the  nature  of  the  subject,  into  these  two  virtues,  justice 
and  beneficence.     The  former,  that  is  justice,  however  highly  val- 
ued and  rarely  found,  is  but  at  best  a  kind  of  negative  virtue,  and 
consists  in  doing  no  ill  to  others,  in  not  injuring  them  in  their  per- 
sons, property,  virtue  or  reputation,  which  is  but  the  lowest  effect  of 
that  love,  which  every  man  owes  to  another.     "  For  this,"  says  the 
apostle,  "  thou  shalt  not  kill,  thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery,  thou 
shalt   not   steal,  thou  shalt  not   bear  false   witness,  thou  shalt  not 
covet ;  and  if  there  be   any  other  commandment  it  is  briefly  com- 
prehended in  this  saying,  namely,  thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as 
thyself.     Love  worketh  no  ill  to  his  neighbour."     It  proves  and  ef- 
fectual check  to  injury  in  thought,  word    and  action.     But  I  call  it 
the  lowest  attainment  of  that  divine  principle,   not  to    injure  those, 
to  whom  it  obligeth  us  to  do  all  the  good  we  can.     This  constitutes 
the  nature  of  that  beneficence,  which  was  mentioned  as  the  second 
\branch  of  that  duty,  which  we  owe  to  other  men.     Justice  or  equi- 
\ty  is  sufficient   to   prevent  our  doing  that  to  another,    which  on  a 
thange  of  circumstances  we    could  not  approve,   or  think  just  and 
equitable  if  done  to   ourselves ;  but  beneficence  goes  further   and 
applies  the  golden  precept  of  our  Lord  in  its  full  extent,  **  Whatso- 
e\^r  ye  would,  that  men  should  do  unto  you,  do  ye  also  unto  them." 
Ttis  leads  to  all  the  different  exertions  of  love,  which  the  different 
situations  of  the  object,  or  the  different  relations  which  the  object 
beaip  to  us,   require  at  our  hands,  and  which  are  distinguished  by 
the  ij^mes  of  generosity,  benevolence,  patriotism,  hospitality,  friend- 

\ 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  61 

ship,  natural  affection,  brotherly  love,  humanity,  gratitude,  clem- 
ency, mercy  and  forgiveness. 

The  third  branch  in  the  general  division  is  godliness  or  piety  ; 
which  has  the  great  Author  of  our  being  for  its  immediate  object. 
The  duties  which  we  owe  to  him,  and  which  constitute  that  spirit- 
ual worship  which  the  devout  soul  habitually  at  all  times  and 
in  all  places  pays  him,  are  reverence,  love,  trust  and  resigna- 
tion. The  object  of  the  first,  which  is  reverence,  is  the  superem- 
inent  excellency  of  all  the  divine  attributes,  considered  in  themselves : 
that  of  the  second,  which  is  love,  is  his  goodness  and  mercy,  par- 
ticularly as  they  appear  in  his  works  of  creation  and  redemption  ; 
the  object  of  the  third,  which  is  trust,  is  in  a  special  manner  the 
veracity  and  faithfulness  of  God,  considered  in  conjunction  with 
his  wisdom  and  power;  and  the  object  of  the  fourth  and  last,  which 
is  resignation,  is  providence,  that  is  to  say,  all  the  divine  perfections 
considered  as  employed  in  the  government  of  the  world,  and  in 
overruling  all  events  in  such  a  manner,  as  that  they  shall  fulfil  the 
ends  of  infinite  wisdom  and  goodness,  and  complete  at  last  the 
happiness  of  God's  people.  This  view  of  the  Christian  plan  of  mor- 
als is  the  more  agreeable,  that  it  exhibits  to  us  our  duty  in  a  kind 
of  scale  or  climax,  not  unlike  the  ladder  which  Jacob  saw  in  his 
dream,  whose  foot  was  fixed  upon  the  earth,  and  whose  top  reached 
the  heaven.  It  begins  at  self,  at  the  regulation  of  the  inferior  ap- 
petites and  passions,  the  great  hinderances  to  spiritual  illumination, 
and  to  all  moral  improvement,  and  at  the  acquisition  of  those  vir- 
tues which  are  in  effect  little  other  in  themselves  than  the  negation 
of  vices;  and  from  these,  it  rises  and  expands  itself  so  as  to  em- 
brace the  human  race,  thence  again  it  ascends  even  to  the  throne 
of  the  most  high  God. 

The  end  of  the  Christian  religion  is  often  represented  as  being 
the  assimilation  of  the  soul  to  God,  by  which  alone  we  can  be  quali- 
fied for  the  enjoyment  of  him.  Now  as  virtue  in  man,  so  the  moral 
perfections  of  God  have  been  represented  as  concentering  in  the 
single  character  of  love.  "  Love  is  of  God,"  says  the  apostle  John, 
*'  and  God  is  love."  Agreeably  to  this  doctrine,  the  acquisition  of 
this  quality  is  represented  as  the  end  of  the  whole  Christian  dispen- 
sation, which  our  apostle  styles  "  the  commandment,"  by  way  of 
eminence.  **  Now  the  end  of  the  commandment  is  charity,"  (or 
love,  for  the  word  in  the  original  is  the  same)  "  out  of  a  pure  heart, 
and  of  a  good  conscience,  and  of  faith  unfeigned."  To  the  same 
8 


62  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

purpose  we  are  told  that  it  is  "  the  bond  of  perfectness,"  or  that 
which  must  consummate  the  Christian  character.  You  need  not 
be  told,  that  in  the  love  of  God  and  the  love  of  our  neighbour,  our 
duty  to  both  is  in  the  New  Testament  commonly  comprehended, 
and  these  two  constitute  the  second  and  third  classes  of  duty  in 
the  gospel  system  above  enumerated. 

With  regard  to  the  virtues  of  the  first  class,  which  have  self  for 
the  object,  and  which  consist  in  temperance  with  regard  to  bodily 
appetite,  and  moderation  in  what  concerns  the  passions  of  the  soul, 
these  cannot  be  considered  as  bearing  in  themselves  a  direct  re- 
semblance to  any  thing  in  the  divine  mind.  They  result  purely 
from  the  peculiarities  of  our  nature  and  circumstances  ;  at  the  same 
time,  they  are  absolutely  prerequisite  to  the  acquisition  of  that  re- 
semblance. They  prepare  the  heart  for  its  reception,  by  the  exclu- 
sion of  whatever  might  tend  to  obstruct  its  access.  Nor  can  any 
thing  more  effectually  block  up  the  avenues  of  the  heart  to  prevent 
the  entrance  of  the  celestial  guest.  Christian  love,  than  sensuality 
and  inordinate  affection.  Thus  1  have  given  you  a  kind  of  skele- 
ton of  the  ethics  of  the  gospel,  not  to  preclude  your  own  assiduous 
endeavours  on  this  most  important  topic,  but  to  serve  on  the  con- 
trary as  hints  to  promote  them.  In  forming  a  digest  upon  such  a 
plan,  it  would  be  proper  to  observe  carefully  the  same  things,  which 
were  pointed  out  as  meriting  your  attention  on  the  former  head. 
They  were  principally  three  :  To  make  scripture  serve  as  its  own 
interpreter  ;  not  to  indulge  a  spirit  of  philosophizing,  or  disposition 
to  refine  upon  the  several  articles;  and  lastly,  to  adopt  as  nearly  as 
possible  the  scripture  language,  only  preferring  the  plainest  and 
simplest  expressions  to  those  which  are  figurative,  or  may  be  thought 
in  any  respect  ambiguous  or  obscure. 

It  will  not  be  improper  in  such  a  system  to  attend  a  little  to  what 
may  be  called  the  order  of  subordination  in  duties,  and  to  point  out 
in  cases  wherein  there  may  be  an  interfering,  which  ought  to  give 
place  to  the  other.  I  do  not  mean,  that  he  should  enter  into  all 
the  curious  discussions  of  casuistry,  an  art,  which  when  all  things 
are  duly  considered,  will  be  found,  I  fear,  to  have  done  more  dis- 
service to  religion  and  morals  than  benefit.  In  matters  of  right 
and  wrong,  it  has  been  observed  with  reason,  that  our  first  thoughts 
are  commonly  the  best.  God  hath  not  left  the  discovery  of  practi- 
cal truths,  or  what  regards  our  duty,  in  the  same  way,  as  those 
truths  that  are  of  a  theoretic  nature,  to  the  slow  and  precarious  de- 
ductions of  the  rational  faculty  ;  but  has  in  our  consciences  given 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  63 

such  clear  intimations  of  what  is  right  and  amiable  in  conduct,  that 
where  there  have  been  no  prejudices  to  occupy  the  mind,  and  per- 
vert the  natural  sense  of  things,  it  commands  an  immediate  and  in- 
stinctive approbation.  Recourse  is  rarely  had  to  the  casuist  for  the 
sake  of  discovering  what  is  our  duty,  but  very  often  that  we  may 
find  a  plausible  pretext  for  eluding  its  commands.  The  Christian 
scheme  in  this  particular  will  be  found,  it  is  hoped,  exactly  con- 
formable to  the  purest  dictates  of  the  unprejudiced  mind,  to  be  truly 
perfective  of  our  nature,  which  it  evidently  tends  to  purify,  expand, 
and  raise,  from  every  thing  that  is  sordid,  contracted,  or  low.  The 
casuistic  art,  as  it  is  commonly  managed,  is  in  fact  but  a  child  of  the 
metaphysical  theology  of  the  schools,  and  has  taken  a  considerable 
tincture  from  the  secular  considerations  which  have  influenced  the 
parent.  Hence  the  term  casuistical  reasoning  has,  with  judicious 
people,  fallen  very  much  into  disgrace,  and  is  considered  at  present 
as  very  nearly  synonymous  with  sophistical  and  Jesuitical  reasoning. 
I  do  not  say  indeed,  that  there  may  not  sometimes  happen  compli- 
cated cases,  in  which  even  a  sensible  and  good  man  might  be  per- 
plexed on  which  side  he  ought  to  determine.  But  these  do  not 
frequently  occur ;  and  to  employ  oneself  in  imagining  them  before 
hand,  and  in  devising  the  various  possible  circumstances  in  which 
transgression  may  be  either  extenuated  or  excused,  will,  1  am 
afraid,  be  found  a  more  effectual  expedient  for  insinuating  vice, 
than  it  is  for  making  us  understand  the  just  limits  of  virtue. 

I  come  now  to  point  out  the  advantages,  which  will  redound  to 
the  student  from  his  employing  so  much  of  his  time  and  labour  on 
the  scriptures,  as  the  exercises,  which  I  have  enjoined,  will  neces- 
sarily require.  The  first  and  most  manifest  advantage  is  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  scriptures.  If  any  thing  whatever  can  contribute  to  this 
end,  the  method  I  have  proposed  must  certainly  do  it.  Every  thing 
that  is  remarkable  in  the  sacred  volume  may  almost  be  comprised 
in  these  three  particulars,  the  history  it  contains,  the  scheme  of 
doctrine,  and  the  system  of  precepts.  In  order  to  make  a  proper 
abstract  of  each,  it  is  necessary  that  we  should  be  attentive  to,  and 
get  acquainted  with  every  part.  Some  parts  indeed  are  more  es- 
sential for  one  of  these  purposes,  and  other  parts  for  another  ;  but 
there  is  no  portion  of  sacred  writ,  of  which  we  may  not  say  with 
justice,  that  it  is  conducive  for  our  improvement,  either  in  the  bib-  ^ 
lical  history,  doctrine,  or  morals,  if  not  in  more  than  one  of  them, 
or  even  in  all  the  three. 

Another  advantage  well  deserving  the  student's  serious  attention 


64  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

is  this.  It  puts  him  upon  a  method,  by  means  of  which  he  can 
hardly  be  in  a  situation  wherein  he  may  not  have  it  in  his  power  to 
employ  his  time  profitably  in  the  acquisition  of  useful  knowledge,  and 
in  forming  habits  of  composition.  I  can  easily  conceive,  and  1  believe 
many  of  you,  gentlemen,  may  have  experienced  what  I  am  going 
to  mention,  I  say,  I  can  easily  conceive  that  the  situation,  in  which 
you  may  sometimes  find  yourselves',  may  be  such  as  affords  very 
little  advantage  for  study,  on  any  plan  of  reading  that  could  well  be 
proposed.  The  books  which  I  might  recommend  may  not  be  found 
in  the  places  to  which  your  circumstances  may  lead  you,  and  even 
the  most  ordinary  helps  may  not  be  at  hand.  On  the  plan  I  pro- 
pose, a  great  deal  may  be  done  with  no  other  book  but  the  Bible, 
and  a  concordance,  which  are  to  be  found  every  where.  Such  of 
you  as  can  read  Hebrew,  and  it  is  what  you  all  ought  to  read,  should 
never  be  without  a  Hebrew  Bible  of  your  own,  and  let  me  add  to  this, 
a  copy  of  the  Septuagint  and  the  Greek  New  Testament.  And  if  you 
have  these,  which  are  neither  cumbersome  or  expensive,  you  are  so 
richly  provided,  that  it  is  your  own  fault,  wherever  you  are,  if  you  are 
not  improving  daily.  The  other  books,  which  I  have  recommended 
for  your  advancement  in  the  knowledge  of  sacred  history,  and  for 
familiarizing  you  to  the  Jewish  manners,  ceremonies,  polity,  idiom, 
you  ought  to  use  when  you  have  the  opportunity  of  such  assistan- 
ces, but  ought  always  to  remember  that  the  want  of  them  needs  nev- 
er impede  your  progress,  and  consequently  is  no  excuse  for  your  be- 
ing idle.  It  is  a  point  of  the  utmost  consequence  to  young  men, 
that  we  lay  down  to  them  a  proper  method  of  employing  their  time, 
not  in  a  certain  imaginary  situation  which  one  might  devise  or  wish, 
but  in  those  actual  situations,  in  which  the  greater  part  of  you  have 
a  probability  of  being.  I  have  known  directions  given  to  students, 
which  seemed  to  proceed  on  the  hypothesis,  that  they  were  to  live 
all  their  days  in  the  midst  of  a  library,  where  no  literary  production 
of  any  name  was  wanting.  The  consequence  of  this  was,  that  the 
impracticability  of  the  execution  made  all  the  sage  directions  they 
received,  to  be  almost  as  soon  forgotten  as  given  ;  and  even  if  they 
were  not  forgotten,  as  they  could  not  be  put  in  practice,  for  want 
of  the  necessary  implements  recommended,  they  would  serve  only 
as  an  excuse  for  idleness.  1  would,  as  much  as  possible,  supply 
this  defect ;  and  allow  me  to  add,  I  would  deprive  every  one  of  you, 
if  I  can,  of  that  silly  pretext  for  doing  nothing,  that  you  have  not 
books.  I  insist  upon  it,  that  the  young  student,  while  he  has  the 
Bible,  may  still  be  usefully  employed. 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  65 

A  third  advantage  which  will  redound  from  a  proper  application 
of  the  method  now  proposed,  is,  that  your  style  on  religious  subjects 
will  be  very  much  formed  on  that  of  the  scriptures.  And  what  can 
be  so  proper  for  conveying  the  mind  of  God  in  the  great  truths  of 
revelation,  as  that  which  was  employed  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  who 
speaks  to  us  by  the  sacred  penmen  ?  One  of  the  many  unhappy 
consequences,  which  have  resulted  from  the  divisions  of  Christians, 
from  their  classing  themselves  under  their  several  captains  and 
leaders,  in  manifest  derogation  from  the  honor  due  to  their  only 
head  and  lord,  the  Messiah,  and  in  no  less  manifest  contempt  of 
the  apostolical  warnings  they  have  received  to  the  contrary,  (one,  I 
say,  of  the  unhappy  consequences  of  this  conduct)  is,  that  each 
party  hath  got  a  dialect  of  its  own,  formed  upon  the  model  of  the 
great  doctor  or  rabbi  the  founder,  or,  at  least,  the  champion  of  the 
sect  to  whom  they  have  implicitly  resigned  their  understandings. 
And  what  is  worse,  this  diversity  in  the  dialects  used  by  the  differ- 
ent parties  hath  itself  become  the  ground  of  an  alienation  of  heart 
from  one  another  ;  and  that,  even  in  cases  where  this  difference  in 
phraseology,  is  all  the  difference  which  a  wise  man  would  be  able 
to  discern  between  them.  It  was  the  resolution  of  Paul  to  speak 
the  things  of  God,  "  not  in  the  words  which  man's  wisdom  teach- 
eth,  but  which  the  Holy  Ghost  teacheth."  The  reverse  is  the  prac- 
tice of  all,  in  whom  the  true  spirit  of  the  sect  predominates,  of 
whatever  denomination  the  sect  be.  They  are  ever  for  speaking 
the  things  of  God,  not  in  the  words  which  the  Holy  Ghost  teach- 
eth, but  which  man's  wisdom  teacheth.  In  antediluvian  times 
when  the  sons  of  God  went  in  to  the  daughters  of  men,  the  product 
of  this  unnatural  mixture,  as  the  sacred  historian  informs  us,  was  gi- 
ants, men  of  renown  indeed,  but  renowned  only  for  what  is  bad, 
men  hideous  both  in  body  and  mind,  as  eminent  for  their  wicked- 
ness as  for  their  stature.  When  religion,  the  daughter  of  heaven, 
hath  been  at  any  time  unhappily  forced  to  admit  an  intercourse 
with  school  metaphysics,  a  mere  son  of  earth,  the  fruit  of  such  in- 
congruous union  has  been  a  brood  no  less  monstrous.  Or  to  adopt 
an  apt  similitude  of  Luther's,  "  Mixtione  quadam  ex  divinis  eloquiis 
et  philosophicis  rationibus,  tanquam  ex  Centaurorum  genere  biformis 
disciplina  confiata  est."*  Hence  those  absurdities  in  doctrine, 
dressed  in  technical  and  barbarous  language,  by  which  the  truth 
as  it  is  in  Jesus,  hath  been  so  miserably  defaced.     Nor  have  these 

*  From  a  mixture  of  the  divine  oracles  and  of  philosophical  reasonings  there 
has  sprung  a  double  shaped  form  of  doctrine,  reminding  one  of  the  Centaurs. 


00  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

last  monsters  been  guilty  of  fewer  or  less  considerable  ravages, 
than  the  first.  In  proof  of  this  fact,  many  of  the  most  incontesti- 
ble  evidences  from  church  history  might  be  produced.  What  the 
apostle  dreaded  with  regard  to  the  Corinthians,  has  in  less  or  more 
befallen  Christians  of  all  denominations,  their  minds  have  been 
corrupted  from  the  simplicity  that  is  in  Christ.  A  more  curious,  a 
more  artificial,  and  a  more  learned  style,  was  necessary  to  gratify  a 
vitiated  palate  and  depraved  appetite. 

Many  are  the  evils  which  to  this  day  are  consequent  upon  an 
immoderate  attachment  to  scholastic  language.  One  is,  a  certain 
jealousy  of  temper  which  it  has  occasioned.  As  one  principal  dis- 
tinction, especially  in  those  parties  or  factions  which  are  consider- 
ed as  approaching  nearest  to  one  another,  is  in  their  style  and  idi- 
om, a  true  sectary  gives  a  particular  attention  not  to  the  sentiments, 
but  to  the  phraseology  of  any  writer  or  speaker  whose  performance 
falls  under  his  consideration,  in  order  that  he  may  discover  wheth- 
er he  be  a  genuine  son  of  the  party.  For  this  purpose,  he  is  apt  to 
scrutinize  every  word  and  expression,  though  in  itself  the  most 
harmless  and  inoffensive,  with  a  kind  of  malicious  severity,  and,  in 
consequence  of  this  habit,  acquires  a  suspicious  censoriousness  in 
his  manner  of  judging,  which  in  every  doubtful  case  leans  to  the 
unfavourable  side  ;  a  disposition  the  most  opposite,  both  to  the  do- 
cile and  to  the  charitable  temper  of  Christianity,  that  can  be  well 
conceived.  Do  not  mistake  me,  as  though  I  meant  this  charge 
against  any  one  sect  or  party,  or  those  of  one  particular  persuasion. 

1  am  persuaded,  on  the  contrary,  that  it  may  with  too  great  justice 
be  charged  on  all.  Nay,  what  is  worse,  though  they  are  shy  to 
speak  it,  the  style  of  scripture  itself  doth  not  altogether  escape  their 
animadversion  and  dislike.  In  the  various  disputes  that  have  been 
introduced,  as  those  on  each  side  pretend,  that  the  doctrine  of  ho- 
ly writ  is  conformable  to  that  of  their  party,  each  has  recourse  to  it 
for  arguments.  Each  picks  out  those  expressions  and  passages 
which  appear  most  favourable  to  its  own  dogmas,  carefully  avoiding 
those,  which  seem  to  lean  to  the  side  of  the  adversary,  and  are  most 
commonly  quoted  by  him.  The  consequence  of  this  is,  that  the 
various  texts  of  scripture  are  strangely  disunited  among  themselves, 
ranged  on  different  sides,  and,  as  it  were,  mustered  among  the 
forces  of  the  opposite  combatants.  One  set  of  scriptural  expressions 
and  terms  become  the  favourites  of  one  party,  and  are,  to  say  the 
least  of  it,  carefully  avoided  by  another  ,*  this  latter  has  also  in  holy 
writ  its  darling  terms  and  phrases,  which  are  no  less  shunned  and 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  67 

disliked  by  the  former.  Thus  all  have  more  or  less  incurred  the 
reproach  which  the  prophet  Malachi  threw  out  against  the  priests  of 
his  day,  "  that  they  had  corrupted  the  covenant,  and  were  partial 
in  the  law."  Part,  it  would  seem,  pleased  them,  and  part  did 
not ;  they  were  careful  to  cull  out  those  particulars  which  were 
suited  to  their  taste,  and  not  less  careful  to  omit  such  as  were  un- 
palatable. And  are  not  we  chargeable  with  the  like  partiality  in 
regard  to  God's  word  ?  Doth  not  one  side  look  with  a  jealous  eye 
on  the  very  mention  of  good  works,  especially  as  that  according  to 
which  we  must  finally  be  judged,  according  to  vvhich  we  must  be 
either  rewarded  or  punished  ?  Doth  not  the  necessity  of  obedience, 
though  delivered  in  the  very  words  of  scripture,  the  iasufficiency 
of  faith  when  unfruitful  and  alone,  the  danger  of  apostacy,  of  mak- 
ing shipwreck  of  faith  and  of  a  good  conscience,  and  the  duty  of  per- 
severance, alarm  them  with  the  direful  apprehensions  of  arminian- 
ism,  pelagianism,  popery,  the  doctrine  of  merit,  and  what  not?  But 
do  I  accuse  those  of  one  side  only?  By  no  means  ?  Under  this  sin 
all  sects  and  parties  may  with  the  greatest  justice  be  concluded. 
Do  but  consider  the  matter  impartially.  How  are  those  of  a  differ- 
ent party  affected  by  the  mention  of  our  being  saved  by  faith,  of  the 
necessity  of  divine  grace,  of  election,  regeneration,  and  the  like? 
Are  not  their  fears  as  quickly  alarmed  ?  Are  they  not  apt  to  ex- 
claim, "  rank  Galvanism,"  it  is  much,  if  they  do  not  add,  "fanatical 
and  puritanical  nonsense?"  And  is  it  not  evident,  that  in  this  man- 
ner the  censures  and  reproaches  of  both  are  levelled  in  a  great 
measure  against  the  word  of  God  itself,  whose  language,  it  is  mani- 
fest, that  neither  party  will  admit  in  all  things  to  be  safe  and  unex- 
ceptionable ?  It  is  worth  while  to  observe  the  different  ways  of  quo- 
ting adopted  by  different  sides.  Each  always  abounds  most  in  the 
favourite  texts  of  the  party  ;  but  when  the  introduction  of  a  passage, 
that  has  been  often  strenuously  urged  by  an  adversary,  seems  una- 
voidable, what  pains  do  they  not  take  to  mend  it  ?  With  what  cir- 
cumspect attention  do  they  intersperse  such  clauses,  and  make  such 
additions,  as  may  prevent  its  being  understood  in  any  other  sense^ 
than  the  sect  approves  ?  Is  it  possible,  in  a  more  glaring  manner,  ta 
show  their  disapprobation  of  the  language  of  the  Spirit;  and  that  it 
is  their  opinion,  that  on  some  points  even  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  ex- 
pressed himself  incautiously,  an  oversight,  which,  it  would  seem,  they 
think  it  incumbent  on  them,  when  occasion  offers,  to  correct  ?  I 
know  no  way  to  avoid  all  those  evil  consequences  of  the  spirit  of 
schism  and  rage  of  dogmatism,  that  have  so  long  and  so  universal- 


68  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

ly  prevailed  in  the  church,  but  by  having  recourse  directly  to  the 
fountain,  before  our  minds  have  been  tainted  by  any  party  whatever. 
This,  and  nothing  but  this,  will  ever  bring  our  judgments  into  the 
right  train,  and  lead  us  to  determine  concerning  the  doubtful  and 
jarring  opinions  and  expressions  of  men  by  the  infallible  word  of 
God,  and  not  of  the  infallible  word  of  God,  by  the  doubtful  and  jar- 
ring opinions  and  expressions  of  men. 

The  last  great  advantage  I  propose  to  mention  as  resulting  from 
this  method,  is  the  preparation  it  gives  for  the  understanding,  both 
of  the  general  controversy  concerning  the  truth  of  Christianity,  and 
in  like  manner  of  all  the  particular  dispiites  that  have  arisen  in  the 
church.     This  I  shall  illustrate  in  the  next  lecture. 


LECTURE   V. 


Subject  continued — The  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures  the  most  essential  part  of 
the  Study — How  far  the  Study  of  Controversy  demands  our  attention. 

In  my  last  discourse,  I  began  with  giving  some  hints  to  aid  the 
young  inquirer  into  religion,  in  forming  a  kind  of  system  of  Chris- 
tian morality,  and  concluded  with  pointing  out  the  advantages 
which  would  redound  to  him,  from  his  being  frequently  employed 
in  the  exercises  on  the  scripture  which  we  have  recommended,  that 
is,  in  making  abstracts,  first  of  the  scriptural  history,  secondly  of 
the  doctrines,  and  thirdly  of  the  moral  precepts.  Of  these  advan- 
tages, I  particularly  mentioned  and  illustrated  on  the  last  occasion, 
three.  The  first  was,  that  it  is  one  of  the  most  effectual  methods, 
I  can  conceive,  of  bringing  the  student  to  an  intimate  acquaintance 
with  his  Bible.  Th©  second  was,  that  it  suggests  to  him  an  ex- 
cellent method  of  employing  his  time  usefully  in  almost  any  situa- 
tion wherein  he  can  be  placed.  Every  other  method  or  plan  of 
study  presupposeth  so  many  things,  so  much  leisure,  so  many  con- 
veniences, and  so  great  a  variety  of  books,  that  admitting  it  were 
ever  so  profitable,  it  can  scarcely  ever  be  put  in  execution  ;  where- 
as, on  the  contrary,  if  the  young  divine,  however  situated,  be  not  in 
a  condition  for  executing  this,  we  may  say  justly,  that  in  ninety- 
nine  cases  out  of  a  hundred,  he  has  himself  to  blame.  The  third 
advantage  I  mentioned  was,  that  his  style  in  religious  matters,  in 
what  regards  the  great  truths  of  revelation,   would  by  this   method 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  .  09^ 

be  formed  entirely  on  the  style  of  holy  writ,  the  great  and  only 
source  of  our  information  on  this  head,  a  style  which  in  general 
terms  is  admitted  by  all  parties  of  Christians  to  \>e  unexceptionable, 
a  style  which  no  sect  dares  directly  to  accuse,  and  yet  with  which 
no  true  sectary  is  altogether  satisfied.  Nor  will  this  advantage  ap- 
pear inconsiderable  to  those,  who  see  what  it  is  to  be  confined  and 
hampered  in  the  trammels  of  a  faction,  and  who  are  duly  sensible  of 
the  jealousy  and  malignity  of  spirit,  that  have  been  consequent  on 
the  many  discordant  Babel  dialects,  which  have  been  introduced 
into  the  Christian  world  by  our  numerous  and  antichristian 
divisions. 

The  fourth  and  last  great  advantage,  which  in  concluding  I  just 
mentioned,  and  now  intend  to  illustrate,  is,  the  preparation  which 
by  this  method  the  student  will  acquire,  for  the  understanding  both 
of  the  general  controversy  concerning  the  truth  of  Christianity,  and 
also  of  the  particular  disputes  that  have  arisen  in  the  church.  As 
to  the  general  controversy  concerning  the  truth  of  revelation,  the 
objections  of  the  adversaries,  as  was  observed  formerly,  are  mostly 
of  two  kinds.  They  are  either  intrinsic,  and  are  levelled  against 
the  contents  of  scripture,  the  doctrine  it  teaches,  the  morals  it  in- 
culcates, or  the  probability  of  the  history  it  records ;  or  extrinsic, 
and  are  levelled  against  the  outward  evidences  which  are  produced 
in  its  defence,  the  miracles  performed,  and  the  prophecies  fulfilled. 
Now  as  to  the  former  species  of  attack,  it  is  manifest  we  are  utterly 
unfit  for  judging  of  the  question  concerning  the  quality  of  the  con- 
tents of  revelation,  till  we  have  previously  studied  what  the  contents 
are.  If  we  go  to  work  the  other  way,  which  I  call  preposterous, 
we  are  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  the  antagonist  for  the  most  essential 
part,  the  very  foundation  of  his  argument,  to  wit,  the  reality  of  the 
facts  and  allegations,  on  which  all  his  reasonings  are  built.  If  we 
take  things  for  granted  on  his  bare  affirmation,  which  if  he  has  a 
specious  manner  of  writing  we  shall  have  a  strong  propensity  to  do, 
it  is  a  thousand  to  one  we  shall  become  the  dupes  of  the  grossest 
misrepresentation.  If  we  have  the  sense  and  caution  to  perceive 
that  we  ought  to  suspend  our  judgment,  till  we  have  impartially 
examined  the  allegations  in  point  of  fact,  we  shall  at  best  be  per- 
plexed and  puzzled,  but  can  never  be  edified  or  improved  by  so 
premature  a  study.  The  only  thing  we  then  can  do  with  propriety, 
is  to  betake  ourselves  to  the  study  of  scripture  in  some  such  method 
as  that  which  has  been  proposed ;  and  before  we  have  accomplished 
9 


70  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

this,  'tis  a  thousand  to  one,  that  all  our  previous  controversial  read- 
ing, when  we  were  nowise  prepared  to  enter  into  the  argument, 
will  be  quite  forgotten,  so  that  the  least  bad  consequence  of  this 
perversion  of  the  natural  order  is  the  loss  of  so  much  time  and 
labour,  and  the  necessity  we  are  under  of  beginning  the  controversy 
a  second  time,  if  we  would  become  masters  of  the  question.  Even 
in  a  dispute,  which  we  may  happen  to  hear  in  company,  how  little 
are  we  qualified  to  judge  which  of  the  parties  hath  reason  on  his 
side,  if  we  are  unacquainted  with  the  subject  of  dispute?  We  shall 
possibly  be  capable  of  deciding,  which  is  the  ablest  disputant ;  but 
we  could  not  devise  a  more  fallacious  rule,  though  in  such  circum- 
stances none  is  more  common,  by  which  to  determine  the  merits  of 
the  cause. 

Let  it  not  be  pleaded  in  answer  to  this,  that  without  such  a  course 
of  study  and  exercises  as  hath  been  proposed,  the  generality  of  stu- 
dents, at  least  in  protestant  countries,  have  sufficient  knowledge  of 
the  contents  of  scripture,  to  qualify  them  to  judge  of  such  contro- 
versy ;  for  have  they  not  had  occasion,  nay,  have  they  not  been 
inured  to  read  the  sacred  books  themselves,  and  to  hear  them  read 
by  others,  even  from  their  infancy  ?  But  to  this  I  reply,  that  as 
teaching  in  this  manner  has  always  been  accompanied  more  or  less 
with  human  explications  and  glosses,  the  learner  in  so  early  a  period 
is  extremely  ill  qualified  to  distinguish  the  text  from  the  comment. 
Accordingly,  do  we  not  see,  that  with  the  same  practice  of  reading 
scripture  and  hearing  it  read,  the  notions  of  its  doctrine,  imbibed 
by  the  youth,  are  different  in  different  countries  and  in  different 
sects  t  It  is  of  importance,  before  the  student  enter  on  the  main 
question,  the  truth  of  his  religion,  that  he  should  be  enabled  to  dis- 
tinguish between  the  commandments  of  God,  and  the  traditions  of 
the  elders ;  between  the  sienple  truth,  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  and  the 
subtleties  and  refinements  of  the  theorist.  These  are  miserably 
blended  and  confounded  in  all  the  attacks  that  have  been  made  on 
the  Christian  religion.  And  what  is  worse,  most  of  the  answerers, 
having  been  themselves  zealous  partizans  of  some  sect,  have  con- 
tributed to  confirm  and  increase  the  confusion.  The  method  1 
have  proposed,  doth,  in  my  opinion,  bid  fairest  for  accomplishing 
the  end,  and  enabling  the  student,  in  most  cases,  to  make  the  dis- 
tinction. Besides,  even  the  attacks  that  have  been  made  on  the 
external  evidences,  especially  in  regard  to  the  fulfilment  of  prophe- 
cies, when  the  argument  turns  on  the  meaning  of  the  prediction, 
we  are,  by  thus  familiarizing  ourselves  to  the  study  of  the  scripture 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  71 

idiom,  language,  and  sentiments,  prepared  for  understanding,  and 
consequently  for  deciding  upon  its  strength  or  weakness.  And  in- 
deed (if  we  except  only  the  abstract  and  metaphysical  argument, 
that  has  been  urged  against  the  possibility  of  miraculous  events  as 
being  preternatural,  which  is  totally  independent  on  any  question  of 
fact,  and  may  therefore  be  studied  at  any  time)  the  best  preparation 
we  can  make,  for  entering  into  the  whole  controversy  concerning 
the  truth  of  Christianity,  is  a  critical  knowledge  of  holy  writ,  to- 
gether with  some  proficiency  both  in  biblical  and  ecclesiastic  his- 
tory. But  further,  this  will  be  found  the  best  method,  not  only  for 
enabling  us  to  understand  the  controversy,  but  for  abridging  it  also^ 
We  shall  be  in  a  capacity  for  detecting  many  fallacies  in  reasoning, 
and  many  misrepresentations  of  fact,  which  might  otherwise  stagger 
and  confound  us.  When  thus  prepared,  our  own  penetration  will, 
in  many  cases,  supersede  the  necessity  of  perusing  refutations. 

But  this  method  will  be  found  not  only  the  best  preparation  for 
understanding  the  general  controversy  concerning  the  truth  of  our 
religion,  but  also  for  entering  properly  into  the  particular  controver- 
sies that  have  arisen  among  Christians  concerning  articles  of  faith, 
matters  of  government,  worship,  discipline,  or  morals.  When  the  ad- 
verse parties  are  both  protcstants,  the  point  just  now  affirmed  may 
with  propriety  be  called  self-evident ;  because  the  only  infallible  rule 
of  decision  admitted  by  both  parties,  is  tlie  scripture.  And  even  in 
the  disputes  which  subsist  between  protestants  and  papists,  or  Ro- 
man Catholics  as  they  affect  to  call  themselves,  this  knowledge  of 
the  sacred  volume  and  history  must  be  of  the  utmost  consequence  ; 
since,  though  we  do  not  receive  for  scripture  all  that  they  account 
canonical,  yet  they  admit  as  such  all  the  books  that  are  received  by 
us ;  and  though  they  will  not  acknowledge  scripture  to  be  the  only 
rule  of  faith  and  manners,  yet  as  they  own  its  inspiration,  they 
avow  it  to  be  a  rule  and  an  unerring  rule  too.  The  exact  knowl- 
edge of  its  contents  must  therefore  be  of  the  greatest  moment  to 
one  who  would  enter  the  lists  with  a  Romanist,  since  those  of  that 
faction  cannot,  consistently  with  their  own  profession,  admit  any 
thing  in  religion,  which  is  contradictory  to  the  doctrine  or  precepts 
contained  in  that  book  :  so  that  even  upon  their  own  principles, 
their  tenets  are  liable  to  be  confuted  from  scripture,  if  we  can  evince 
the  contrariety.  And  with  regard  to  all  the  particular  popish  con- 
troversies, next  to  the  knowledge  of  scripture,  a  thorough  acquain- 
tance with  ecclesiastic  history  is  of  the  greatest  importance.  Unin- 
terrupted tradition  is  a  much  boasted  and  vety  powerful  plea  with^ 


72  CAMPBELLS  LECTURES. 

them.  It  is  impossible  without  such  an  acquaintance  with  church 
history,  for  any  one  to  conceive  how  miserably  ill  this  plea  is  adapted 
to  support  their  cause.  The  gradual  introduction  of  their  many 
gross  corruptions,  both  in  doctrine  and  pj-actice,  is  so  extremely  ap- 
parent to  the  historic  student,  that  even  a  person  of  moderate  pen- 
etration will  need  no  other  proof,  either  of  their  novelty,  or  of  the 
baseness  of  their  extraction.  He  will  thus  in  the  most  effectual 
manner  be  convinced  of  the  falseness  of  all  other  foundations,  tra- 
dition, popes,  and  councils,  and  that  the  Bible  is  that  alone  on 
which  the  religion  of  Christians  can  rest  immoveably.  He  will  be 
apt  to  conclude  in  the  words  of  the  excellent  Chillingworth,  (whose 
performance  deserves  a  most  serious  perusal,  not  more  because  it  is 
a  clear  detection  of  papistical  sophistry,  than  because  it  is  an  ad- 
mirable specimen  of  just  and  acute  reasoning,  he  will  be  ready,  I 
say,  to  conclude  in  the  words  of  that  author,)  "  Whatsoever  else 
they  believe  besides  the  Bible,  and  the  plain,  irrefragable,  indubita- 
ble consequences  of  it,  well  may  they  hold  it  as  a  matter  of  opinion, 
but  as  a  matter  of  faith  and  religion  neither  can  they,  with  cohe- 
rence to  their  own  grounds,  believe  it  themselves,  nor  require  the 
belief  of  it  of  others,  without  most  high  and  most  schismatical  pre- 
sumption. I,  for  my  part,  after  a  long  and  (as  I  verily  believe  and 
hope)  impartial  search  of  the  true  way  to  eternal  happiness,  do  pro- 
fess plainly,  that  I  cannot  find  any  rest  for  the  sole  of  my  foot,  but 
on  this  rock  only.  I  see  plainly  and  with  my  own  eyes,  that  there 
are  popes  against  popes  ;  councils  against  councils ;  some  fathers 
against  others ;  the  same  fathers  against  themselves  ;  a  consent  of 
fathers  of  one  age  against  a  consent  of  fathers  of  another  age ;  the 
church  of  one  age  against  the  church  of  another  age.  Traditive 
interpretations  of  scripture  are  pretended,  but  there  are  none  to  be 
found.  No  tradition,  but  only  of  scripture,  can  derive  itself  from 
the  fountain,  but  may  be  plainly  proved,  either  to  have  been  brought 
in,  in  such  an  age  after  Christ,  or  that  in  such  an  age  it  was  not  in. 
In  a  word,  there  is  no  sufficient  certainty,  but  of  scripture  only,  for 
any  considerate  man  to  build  upon."  Thus  far  that  able  advocate 
of  Protestantism.  So  just  will  the  remark  be  found  upon  the  trial, 
that  those  branches  of  knowledge,  which  we  have  advised  the  stu- 
dent to  begin  with,  holy  writ  and  sacred  history,  will,  beyond  his 
conception,  tend  to  shorten  the  study  of  all  religious  controversies 
both  general  and  particular.  The  reason  is  obvious.  It  will  sup- 
ply him  with  a  fund  in  himself,  whereby  he  can  discover  the  solidity 
or  futility  of  almost  every  argument  that  can  be  advanced. 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  73 

On  the  contrary,  when  one  who  is  quite  unprovided  in  this  re- 
spect, enters  on  controversy  either  general  or  particular,  what  is  the 
consequence  1  It  is,  I  may  say,  invariably,  one  or  other  of  these 
two.  He  is  either  fixed  entirely  in  his  sentiments  by  the  first  author 
he  reads,  so  that  the  clearest  proofs  from  reason  or  scripture  can 
never  shake  him  afterwards  ;  or  he  is  always  the  dupe  of  the  last 
writer  he  has  happened  to  peruse.  The  first  is  commonly  the  case, 
when  there  is  ever  so  little  of  a  previous  bias  from  education  to  the 
principles,  and  a  favourable  opinion  of  the  character  of  the  author. 
The  second  holds  more  commonly  when  the  bias  from  education,  if 
any,  is  inconsiderable,  and  the  authors  on  both  sides  ingenious  and 
artful.  Nor  does  this  wavering  in  the  student  betray,  as  is  com- 
monly imagined,  a  want  of  understanding.  The  want  it  betrays  is 
of  a  very  different  nature.  It  is  the  want  of  such  a  stock  of  knowl- 
edge, as  is  necessary  to  qualify  the  mind  for  judging.  Or  to  adopt 
an  illustration  from  the  body ;  it  is  not  the  badness  of  his  eyes,  but 
the  want  of  light  which  is  the  cause  of  his  mistaking.  And  the 
best  eyes  in  the  world  will  not  distinguish  colours  in  the  dark.  It 
must  be  owned  further,  that  even  this  changeableness,  when  it  arises 
from  such  a  cause  as  we  have  mentioned,  shows  commonly  a  lauda- 
ble candour  of  temper  and  openness  to  conviction.  In  both  cases, 
however,  the  effect  is  a  sufficient  demonstration,  that  the  study  was 
premature.  Mr.  Pope,  by  his  own  acknowledgment,  was  an  in- 
stance of  the  case  last  mentioned,  as  we  learn  from  one  of  his  let- 
ters to  Dr.  Atterbury.  The  prelate,  it  would  appear,  had  been 
using  his  best  endeavours  with  the  poet  to  induce  him  to  read  some 
of  the  most  celebrated  authors  on  the  popish  controversy,  in  order 
to  his  conversion  to  the  church  of  England.  Mr.  Pope,  amongst 
other  things,  informed  the  bishop,  that  he  had  formerly,  even  when 
he  was  but  fourteen  years  old,  employed  some  time  in  reading  the 
best  writers  on  both  sides  the  question,  and  that  the  consequence 
had  always  been,  that  he  was  protestant  and  papist  alternately,  ac- 
cording to  the  principles  of  the  author,  who  had  last  engaged  his 
attention.  He  adds  very  pertinently,  **  I  am  afraid  most  seekers 
are  in  the  same  case ;  and  when  they  stop,  they  are  not  so  properly 
converted,  as  outwitted."  Mr.  Pope  cannot,  I  think,  be  justly 
accused  even  by  his  enemies  of  a  defect  of  understanding.  In  this 
particular,  he  was  considerably  above  the  ordinary  standard.  But 
being,  in  all  probability,  at  that  early  period  totally  deficient  in 
those  materials,  which  could  enable  him  to  judge  for  himself  in 
controversies  about  the  sense  of  revelation,  it  was  inevitable,  that 


74  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

he  should  be  swayed  by  turns  by  the  different  representations  of 
the  different  champions.  In  other  words,  not  having  in  himself 
those  lights  that  were  necessary,  the  knowledge  of  scripture  and 
the  knowledge  of  history,  to  enable  him  to  see  with  his  own  eyes, 
he  was  forced  to  see  with  those  of  other-  people ;  and  his  imparti- 
ality itself  led  him  to  be  influenced  most  by  the  nearest,  by  him 
who  had  made  the  last  impression.  So  much  for  the  advantages 
which  will  accrue  to  the  student  from  a  proper  prosecution  of  the 
plan  I  have  been  recommending. 

But,  it  may  be  said,  suppose  this  knowledge  of  which  you  speak, 
is  once  attained.  Must  he  proceed  any  further  ?  and  if  he  must,  In 
what  manner  ?     In  answer  to  these  questions,  I  observe  first,  that 
when  once  the  knowledge  I  mentioned  is  attained,  he  has  accom- 
plished by  far  the  most  essential  part  of  the  study  of  Christian  the- 
ology, he  hath  acquired  that  which  is  both  in  itself  most  valuable, 
and  can  best  prepare  him  to  enter  with  understanding  into  the 
other,  and  less  essential  parts  of  the  study.     Things  however  are 
rendered  necessary  to  people  in  certain  stations  from  certain  acci- 
dental circumstances,  which  would  otherwise  be  of  little  conse- 
quence in  themselves.     Of  this  sort  are  many  things  which  the  the- 
ologian must  not  altogether  overlook.      Some  books  deserve  to  be 
read  on  account  of  the  useful  instruction  they  contain;  some  again 
on  account  of  the  vogue  they  have  obtained,  and  often  merely  that 
we  may  be  qualified  to  say  with  greater  confidence,  that  they  con- 
tain nothing  of  any  value;  some,  because  they  inform  us  of  what  is 
done  ;    others,  because  they  inform  us  of  what  is  thought.     And  as 
the  qualities  of  different  books  and  the  acquisitions  we  make  by 
them  are  very  different,  so  the  motives  that  influence  us  are  no  less 
various  :  sometimes  we  read  to  obtain  a  supply  of  knowledge,  oftener 
to  obtain  a  supply  of  conversation,  and  not  seldom  to  pass  tolerably 
over  a  vacant  hour,  which  we  are  at  a  loss  how  to  spend.     In  deter- 
mining the  comparative  merits  of  books,  there  can  be  no  question, 
that  those  which  convey  useful  knowledge  and  deserve  a  reading 
on  their  own  account,  are  in  a  class  greatly  superior  to  those  which 
afford  only  matter  of  conversation,  and  require  a  share  of  our  atten- 
tion on  account  of  the  esteem  of  others ;    and  which  is  perhaps 
nearly  coincident,  those  which  instruct  us  in  permanent  truths,  and 
the  actual  productions  of  eventful  time,  are  of  a  higher  order,  than 
those  which  entertain  us  only  with  the  vague  opinions  and  unintel- 
ligible sophisms  of  men.     Books  of  the  third  class,  or  pieces  of  mere 
amusement,  I  throw  out  of  the  question  altogether.    Now  as  to  those 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  75 

of  the  second,  if  every  man  were  unconnected  with  and  independent 
on  his  fellows,  such  reading  (farther  at  least  than  were  necessary  to 
give  us  some  notion  of  the  wanderings  of  the  human  mind)  it  would 
perhaps  be  better  to  dispense  with  entirely.  But  as  that  is  not  the 
case,  and  as  our  own  happiness  in  a  great  measure,  and  the  very 
end  of  our  being  depend  on  our  utility,  it  is  necessary,  that  in  our 
studies  this  should  command  a  considerable  share  of  our  regard- 
It  is  not  by  undervaluing  their  sentiments,  that  we  can  ever  hope 
to  be  profitable  to  others,  and  to  correct  what  is  amiss  in  them.  It 
is  necessary  that  in  this  respect  we  should  even  follow  the  wanderer 
into  his  devious  tracks,  that  we  may  be  in  a  condition  to  lay  hold  of 
him,  and  reclaim  him  by  reconducting  him  into  the  right  way. 

Now  to  make  application  of  these  observations  to  the  present  sub- 
ject, 1  readily  admit,  that  when  once  the  young  divine  hath  acquired 
the  knowledge  of  the  scriptures  above  recommended  and  illustrated, 
and  hath  added  to  this  the  history  of  our  religion,  he  hath  obtained 
all,  or  nearly  all  that  is  instructive,  that  is  truly  valuable  on  its  own 
account,  but  he  hath  not  obtained  all  that  may  be  necessary  to  fit 
him  for  instructing  others.  For  this  purpose,  he  must  be  prepared 
to  enter  the  lists  with  gainsayers  on  their  own  ground,  and  to  fight 
them  at  their  own  weapons.  With  the  fund  of  substantial  knowl- 
edge above  pointed  out,  he  will  hardly  run  the  risk  of  being  seduced 
by  the  sophistry  of  others,  but  he  may  be  both  surprised  and  silenced 
by  it.  We  may  perceive  perfectly  the  inconclusiveness  of  the  ar- 
gument of  an  adversary,  the  moment  it  is  produced,  to  which  how- 
ever we  may  not  be  able  on  the  sudden  to  give  a  pertinent  and 
satisfactory  reply.  Besides,  a  deficiency  in  this  secondary  kind  of 
knowledge  is  perhaps  more  apt,  in  the  judgment  of  the  world,  to  fix 
on  a  character  the  stain  of  ignorance,  than  a  defect  in  the  primary 
kind.  And  how  much  this  stigma,  however  unjustly  fixed,  will,  by 
prejudicing  the  minds  of  men,  prevent  the  success  of  a  teacher, 
those  who  understand  any  thing  of  human  nature  will  easily  judge. 

I  will  just  now  put  a  case,  the  decision  of  which  will  be  thought 
by  several  to  be  problematical,  and  by  many  to  be  extremely  clear, 
though  of  these  no  doubt  some  would  decide  one  way,  and  some 
another.  With  the  reservation  of  sacred  writ  and  sacred  history, 
under  which  I  include  all  that  can  serve  to  enlighten  pagan,  Jewish 
and  Christian  antiquity,  I  will  suppose  that  all  our  theological  books, 
systems,  controversies,  commentaries,  on  all  the  different  sides,  were 
to  be  annihilated  at  once  ;  the  question  is,  whether  the  Christian 
world  and  the  republic  of  letters  would  be  a  gainer  or  a  loser  by 


76  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

this  extraordinary  event.  Let  it  not  be  imagined,  that  I  mean  by 
this  supposition,  to  consider  all  such  performances  as  being  on  a 
level  in  point  of  excellency.  Nothing  can  be  farther  from  my  view. 
I  know  that  the  difference  among  them  in  respect  of  merit  is  ex- 
ceedingly great.  Nor  is  it  my  intention  to  insinuate,  that  there  would 
not  be  a  real  loss,  when  considered  separately,  in  the  suppression 
of  many  ingenious  and  many  useful  observations.  But  as  there 
would  on  the  other  hand  be  manifest  gain  in  the  extinction  of  so 
much  sophistry,  the  destruction  of  so  many  artful  snares  laid  for 
seducing,  the  annihilation  of  the  materials  of  so  much  contention, 
I  may  say,  of  the  fuel  for  kindling  such  terrible  conflagrations,  my 
question  regards  only  the  balance  upon  the  whole,  and  whether  the 
loss  would  not  be  more  than  compensated  by  the  profit.  Can  the 
Christian,  at  least  can  the  Protestant,  think,  that  there  would  be  a 
want  of  any  thing  essential,  whilst  the  word  of  God  remained,  and 
every  thing  that  might  be  helpful,  not  to  bias  men  to  particular 
opinions,  but  to  throw  light  upon  its  idiom  and  language  ?  Is  it 
possible,  that  any  man  of  common  understanding  should  imagine, 
we  could  ever  come  to  differ  so  widely  about  the  sense  and  mean- 
ing of  scripture,  if  we  did  not  take  such  different  ways  of  setting 
out,  and  if  almost  every  one  were  not  at  pains  to  get  his  mind  pre- 
occupied by  some  human  composition  or  teaching,  before  he  enters 
on  the  examination  of  that  rule  ?  And  would  it  be  a  mighty  loss  to 
Christians,  that  the  seeds  (I  say  not  of  their  differences  in  opinion, 
but)  of  such  unrelenting  prejudices,  such  implacable  animosities 
against  one  another,  were  totally  destroyed  ?  Shall  it  be  regarded 
as -a  formidable  danger,  that  all,  by  being  thus  compelled  to  a  sort 
of  uniformity  in  their  method  of  study,  should  arrive  at  an  unanimity, 
not  so  much  in  their  tenets  as  in  their  dispositions  and  affections  ? 
For  that  this  would  be  the  consequence,  there  is  the  greatest  reason 
in  the  world  to  believe ;  as  in  nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine  instances 
out  of  a  thousand,  all  the  differences  among  Christians  are  the  man- 
ifest fruit  of  the  different  biasses  previously  given  to  their  minds. 

Those  who  are  profoundly  read  in  theological  controversy,  before 
they  enter  on  the  critical  examination  of  the  divine  oracles,  if  they 
have  the  discernment  to  discover  the  right  path,  which  their  former 
studies  have  done  much  to  prevent,  and  if  they  have  the  fortitude 
to  persevere  in  keeping  that  path,  will  quickly  be  sensible,  that  they 
have  more  to  unlearn  than  to  learn  ;  and  that  the  acquisition  of 
truth  is  not  near  so  difficult  a  task,  as  to  attain  a  superiority  over 
rooted  errors  and  old  prejudices.    Let  it  not  be  imagined  from  this. 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  W 

that  I  condemn  all  controversial  writing.  There  are  certain  cir- 
cumstances, I  am  sensible,  which  render  it  necessary.  Were  it 
indeed  possible,  that  all  controversies  in  divinity  were  buried  in  one 
grave  without  the  hope  of  resurrection,  I  should  think  it  incompa- 
bly  better  for  Christendom;  but  it  would  be  extremely  hard  if  error 
were  allowed  to  attack,  and  truth  not  permitted  to  defend  herself. 
If  there  must  be  debates,  let  them  be  fair  and  open,  let  both  sides 
be  heard  with  candour  and  impartiality.  This  is  the  only  sure  way 
of  giving  all  possible  advantage  to  the  truth.  It  were  certainly 
better  for  mankind  that  no  deadly  weapons  whatever  were  used  or 
known  among  men  ;  but  if  villians  will  use  them  for  the  purposes 
of  mischief,  it  would  be  very  hard,  that  honest  men  should  be  de- 
nied the  use  of  them  in  self  defence. 

I  would  not  by  this  be  thought  to  insinuate,  that  these  two  cases 
are  in  all  respects  parallel,  or  that  the  patrons  of  error'were  always 
actuated  by  villanous  designs.  God  forbid  that  I  were  so  unchar- 
itable. Our  Lord  himself  hath  assured  us  that  those  who  would  raise 
the  most  cruel  persecutions  against  his  disciples,  would  seriously 
think,  that  in  so  doing  they  did  God  service.  He  hath  little  knowl- 
edge of  mankind  who  doth  not  perceive  that  men  are  often  just  as 
sincere'in  their  intentions  in  the  defence  of  erroneous,  as  of  true, 
opinions.  The  only  purpose  of  my  similitude  was  to  signify,  that  if 
honesty  must  be  allowed  to  wage  at  least  a  defensive  war  against 
villany,  the  same  privilege  should  be  allowed  to  truth  against  false- 
hood. Here  indeed  it  may  be  justly  said,  that  the  greater  freedom 
ought  to  be  permitted  to  both  parties,  as  the  distinction  is  not  so 
easily  made  in  the  latter  case,  as  in  the  former.  To  distinguish  the 
just  from  the  unjust  in  a  quarrel  is  commonly  a  matter  of  much 
greater  facility,  than  to  distinguish  the  true  from  the  false  in  a  de- 
bate. But  as  it  may  be  justly  said,  that  errors  in  religion  have  gen- 
erally more  or  less,  directly  or  indirectly,  a  bad  influence  on  practice, 
they  ought  always  to  be  guarded  against  with  all  the  precaution  of 
which  we  are  capable.  Nor  is  there  another  way  of  guarding 
against  them,  that  I  know  of,  but  by  an  unprejudiced  and  impartial 
scrutiny  into  all  matters  really  questionable. 

I  have  observed  already,  that  after  such  an  examination  as  hath 
been  recommended  of  the  sacred  oracles,  and  of  the  histories  to 
which  they  relate,  and  with  which  they  are  connected,  both  Jewish 
and  Christian,  the  attentive  and  judicious  student  will  not  probably 
find  much  occasion,  for  his  own.  sake,  to  canvass  the  works  of  con- 
10 


78  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

trovertists.    It  may,  however,  be  of  considerable  consequence  for  the 
sake  of  others,  that  one  who  is  to  be  vested  with  a  public  character 
in  the  church,  should  not  be  entirely  unacquainted  with  their  writ- 
ings.   The  first  controversy  that  claims  our  attention  is  the  deistical, 
as  this  strikes  directly  at  the  foundation  of  all.     Could  one  have  an 
opportunity  of  studying  this  at  his  leisure,  in  what  order  he  pleased, 
and  had  all  the  necessary  books  at  his  command,  I  should  advise 
him  to  begin  with  those  which  relate  to  the  intrinsic  evidence  of 
our  religion,  then  to  proceed  to  what  regards  the  extrinsic  evidence ; 
first  prophecy,  because  most  nearly  related  to  the  former  branch, 
then  miracles,  and  lastly,  every  collateral  confirmation  that  may  be 
brought  from  history.     But  as  it  rarely  happens,  that  one  can  pros- 
ecute a  plan  of  this  kind   in  the  order  or  manner  in  which  it  is 
proposed,  there  is  no  great  matter,  though  you  take  occasion  of  pe- 
rusing the  books  of  the  greatest  name  on  the  one  side  or  the  other 
as  they  fall  in  your  way.     The  only  thing  I  insist  on,  is,  that  this 
study  ought  to  be  posterior  altogether  to  the  study  of  sacred  writ 
and  sacred  history,  if  you  would  enter  into  it  with  understanding, 
if  you  would  not  expose  yourselves  to  be  misled  and  imposed  on, 
mistaking  the  specious  for  the  solid,  not  enough  enlightened  to  dis- 
tinguish the  plausible  from  the  true.     As  to  the  particular  questions 
that  have  arisen  among  Christians,  those  which  claim  our  first 
attention  are,  doubtless,  such  as  subsist  between  Protestants  and 
Papists.     Next  to  these  the  several  distinguishing  tenets  which 
characterize  the  various  tribes  or  sects,  that  come  under  the  com- 
mon name  of  Protestant — Lutherans,  Socinians,  Arminians,  Cal- 
vinists,  Antinomians ;  and  to  these  we  may  add  those  questions 
which   have   been  for  some  time   hotly  agitated  in  this  island ; 
for  though  several  of  them  are  in  themselves  apparently  of  little  mo- 
ment, yet  they  have  been  productive  of  momentous  consequences. 
Such  are  the  questions  in  relation  to  the  externals  of  worship  and 
forms  of  government,  about  ceremonies,  sacraments,  and  ordina- 
tion, and  which  constitute  the  principal  matters  in  dispute  between 
the  church  of  England  and  Dissenters,  and  by  which  several  of  our 
sects,  such  as  Anabaptists,  Nonjurors,  and  Quakers,  are  chiefly 
discriminated.     As  to  the  numerous  controversies  which  have  in 
former  ages  made  a  noise  in  the  church,  and  are  now  extinct,  or 
which  are  still  agitated  in  distant  regions,  Greece  or  Asia  for  exam- 
ple, it  is  enough  with  regard  to  these,  to  know  what  church  history 
hath  recorded  concerning  their  rise,  progress,  and  decline  ;    con- 
cerning the  quibbles  and  phrases  (for  we  can  rarely  call  them  prin- 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  79 

ciples)  which  have  afforded  the  chief  matter  of  their  altercation. 
I  do  not  speak  in  this  manner,  as  if  all  our  controversies  in  the 
West  were  of  themselves  of  greater  importance  than  the  eastern 
disputes,  or  as  if  the  modern  were  superior  to  the  ancient.  1  am 
far  from  thinking,  that  the  cavils  and  logomachies  of  our  Supralap- 
sarians  and  Sublapsarians,  Remonstrants,  Antiremonstrants,  and 
Universalists  of  the  last  age,  or  of  our  Seceders — both  burgesses 
and  antiburgesses,  Reliefmen,  Cameronians,  Moravians,  and  San- 
demanians,  are  one  jot  more  intelligible  or  more  edifying,  than 
those  of  the  Sabellians,  Eutychians  and  Nestorians  and  Monothe- 
lites  and  Monophysites,  and  a  thousand  other  ancient  and  oriental 
distinctions.  The  only  thing  that  can  give  superior  consequence 
to  the  former  with  us,  is  their  vicinity  in  time  and  place,  and  the 
propriety  there  is,  that  for  the  sake  of  others,  the  Christian  pastor 
should  be  prepared  for  warding  the  blows  of  those  adversaries,  to 
whom  his  people  may  be  exposed.  I  say  for  the  sake  of  others, 
for  we  may  venture  to  affirm,  that  no  man  of  common  understand- 
ing, who  hath  candidly  and  assiduously  studied  holy  writ  in  the  man- 
ner we  have  recommended,  can  find  the  smallest  occasion  for  his 
own  sake  of  entering  into  such  labyrinths  of  words,  such  extrava- 
gant ravings,  as  would  disgrace  even  the  name  of  sophistry ;  for 
even  that  term,  bad  as  it  is,  implies  art  and  ingenuity,  and  at  least 
an  appearance  of  reason,  which  their  wild  declamation  can  very 
rarely  boast.  I  am  not  of  the  mind,  that  the  student  should  think 
it  necessary  to  inquire  into  the  several  groun(5s  and  pleas  of  all  the 
above  mentioned  sects  and  parties.  Some  of  them,  as  the  princi- 
pal heads  of  our  disputes  with  Romanists,  and  the  chief  questions 
that  have  been  started  concerning  the  divinity  of  Christ,  his  expia- 
tion of  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself,  and  concerning  the  operation 
of  the  Spirit,  it  will  be  proper  to  canvass  more  thoroughly.  As  to 
those  of  less  note,  since  it  is  chiefly  for  the  sake  of  others  our  the- 
ologian studies  such  questions,  he  must  judge  how  far  it  is  needful 
by  the  situation  in  which  he  finds  himself. 


80  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 


LECTURE  VI. 

Method  of  prosecuting  our  Inquiries  in  Polemic  Divinity — The  use  to  be 
made  of  Scholia,  Paraphrases,  and  Commentaries — Danger  of  relying  on 
human  guidance  in  matters  of  Religion. 

1  NOW  come  more  particularly  to  the  method  of  prosecuting  these 
inquiries  in  polemic  divinity.  The  briefest,  and  therefore,  not  the 
worst  way,  is  by  means  of  systems.  And  of  these,  I  own,  I  gener- 
ally like  the  shortest  best.  My  reason  is,  that  all  of  them,  without 
exception,  have,  on  certain  topics,  and  in  some  degree  or  other,  de- 
parted from  the  simplicity  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  They  have 
indulged  too  much  to  imagination,  and  fallen  at  times  into  the  do- 
tage about  questions  and  strifes  of  words  which  minister  conten- 
tion, and  not  godly  edifying,  and  they  have  not  sufficiently  known, 
or  acknowledged,  the  limits  on  those  sublime  subjects,  which  God 
hath  assigned  to  the  human  faculties.  It  ought  never  to  be  forgot- 
ten by  the  student,  that  the  Deity  hath  prescribed  bounds  to  the  hu- 
man mind,  as  well  as  the  mighty  ocean,  and  in  effect  tells  us  in  his 
word,  "  Thus  far  shalt  thou  come,  and  no  farther,  and  here  shall 
thy  airy  flights,  thy  proud  excursions,  be  staid."  If  the  student 
can,  let  him  provide  himself  in  some  of  the  most  approved  systems 
on  the  different  sides.  'Tis  error,  not  truth,  vice,  not  virtue, 
that  fears  the  light.  You  may  rest  assured  of  it,  that  if  any  teacher 
exclaims  against  such  a  fair  and  imparital  inquiry,  and  would  limit 
you  to  the  works  of  one  side  only,  the  reason  is,  whatever  he  may 
pretend,  and  however  much  he  may  disguise  it  even  from  himself, 
he  is  more  solicitous  to  make  you  his  own  follower,  than  the  follow- 
er of  Christ,  and  a  blind  retainer  to  the  sect  to  which  he  has  attach- 
ed himself,  than  a  well  instructed  friend  of  truth,  without  any  par- 
tial respects  to  persons  or  parties.  On  reading  an  article  in  one 
system,  let  him  peruse  the  correspondent  article  in  the  others,  and 
examine  impartially  by  scripture  as  he  proceeds  ;  and  in  this  man- 
ner, let  him  advance  from*  one  article  to  another,  till  he  hath  can- 
vassed the  whole.  'Tis  more  than  probable,  that  on  [some  points 
he  will  conclude  them  all  to  be  in  the  wrong ;  because  all  may  go 
farther  than  holy  writ  affords  a  foundation  for  deciding,  a  thing  by 
no  means  uncommon  :  but  in  no  case,  wherein  they  differ,  can 
more  than  one  be  in  the  right.  If  he  shall  find  it  expedient  after- 
wards to  inquire  more  narrowly  into  some  branches  of  controversy, 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  81 

he  will  have  an  opportunity  of  reading  books  written  on  purpose  on 
both  sides  the  question.  If  he  should  not  have  it  in  his  power  to  con- 
sult different  systems,  he  will  Jfiind  a  good  deal  of  some  of  our  prin- 
cipal controversies  in  Burnet's  exposition  of  the  articles,  and  Pear- 
son on  the  Creed.  When  thus  far  advanced,  he  may  occasionally, 
as  he  finds  a  difficulty  (and  in  my  opinion  he  ought  not  otherwise) 
consult  scholia  and  commentaries.  Of  these  I  like  the  first  best, 
both  because  they  are  briefer,  and  because  they  promise  less.  The 
scholiast  proposes  only  to  assist  you  in  interpreting  some  passages, 
which,  in  the  course  of  his  study,  he  has  met  with  things  that  serve 
to  illustrate  ;  whereas  the  commentator  sets  out  with  the  express 
purpose  of  explaining  every  thing.  I  have  the  less  faith  in  him  on 
that  account,  and  am  ready  to  say  with  Horace,  "  duid  dignum 
tanto  feret  hie  promissor  hiatu."* 

I  own,  for  I  will  tell  you  freely  what  I  think,  that  of  all  the  kinds 
of  expositors,  1  like  least  the  paraphrast.  There  is  in  him,  an  ap- 
pearance of  presumption,  both  in  giving  what  he  seems  to  imagine 
a  more  proper  style  to  the  inspired  writer,  and  in  his  manner  of  in- 
terweaving his  own  sentiments  indiscriminately  with  those  deliver- 
ed by  unerring  wisdom,  with  which  neither  the  commentator  nor 
the  scholiast  is  chargeable  ;  for  in  these  the  text  and  commentary 
are  never  confounded  by  being  blended.  Another  fault  in  para- 
phrases, of  which  few  or  no  commentaries,  that  I  know  of,  can  be 
accused,  is  that  you  have,  by  way  of  explanation,  in  the  former,  to 
wit  the  paraphrase,  the  sentiments  of  the  pharaphrast  alone  ;  where- 
as in  the  latter,  the  commentary,  you  have  often  the  opinions  of 
others  also,  with  their  reasons,  which,  notwithstanding  the  partial- 
ity of  the  relater,  will  to  the  judicious  reader  often  appear  prefera- 
ble. I  do  not  say,  however,  that  paraphrase  can  never  be  a  useful 
mode  of  explication,  though  I  own,  that  the  cases  wherein  it  may 
be  reckoned  not  improper,  nor  altogether  unuseful,  are  not  numer- 
ous. As  the  only  valuable  aim  of  this  species  of  exposition  is  to 
give  greater  perspicuity  to  the  text,  obscurity  is  the  only  reasonable 
plea  for  employing  it.  When  the  style  is  extremely  concise  or  fig- 
urative, or  when  there  are  frequent  allusions  to  customs  or  inci- 
dents now  not  generally  known,  to  add  as  much  as  is  necessary  for 
supplying  an  ellipsis,  explaining  an  unusual  figure,  or  suggesting  an 
unknown  fact  or  custom  alluded  to,  may  serve  to  render  scripture 
more  intelligible,  without  taking  much  from  its  energy  by  the  para- 

*  What  will  this  pretender  exhibit  worthy  of  such  boasting  ? 


83  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

phrastic  dress  it  is  put  in.  But  if  the  use  and  occasions  of 
paraphrase  be  only  such,  as  hare  been  now  represented,  it  is 
evident,  that  there  are  but  a  few  books  of  holy  writ,  and  but  certain 
portions  of  those  few,  that  require  to  be  treated  in  this  manner. 
No  historical  piece  is  written  with  greater  simplicity  and  perspicuity 
than  the  history  contained  in  the  Bible,  and  both  as  to  facts  and 
moral  instructions,  we  have  not  any  thing  more  eminent  in  this 
respect,  than  the  gospels.  Yet  nothing  is  more  common  than  the 
attempt  of  paraphrasing  these.  And  indeed  the  notions,  which  the 
generality  of  paraphrasts  seem  to  entertain  on  this  subject  are  curi- 
ous. If  we  judge  from  their  productions,  we  must  conclude,  that  they 
have  considered  such  a  size  of  subject  matter  (if  I  may  be  indulged 
in  the  expression)  as  affording  a  proper  foundation  for  a  composi- 
tion of  such  a  magnitude,  and  have  therefore  laid  it  down  as  a  max- 
im, from  which  in  their  practice  they  do  not  often  depart,  that  the 
most  commodious  way  of  giving  to  the  work  the  proposed  extent,  is 
that  equal  portions  of  the  text  (perspicuous  or  obscure  it  matters  not) 
should  be  equally  protracted.*  Thus  regarding  only  quantity,  they 
view  their  text,  and  parcel  it,  and  treat  it  in  much  the  same  manner 
as  gold-beaters  and  wire  drawers  do  the  metals  on  which  their  art 
is  employed.  Verbosity  is  the  proper  character  of  this  kind  of 
composition.  The  professed  design  of  the  paraphrast  is  to  say  in 
many  words  what  his  text  expresseth  in  few  :  accordingly  all  the 
writers  of  this  class  must  be  at  pains  to  provide  themselves  in  a  suf- 
ficient stock  of  synonymas,  epithets,  expletives,  circumlocutions  and 
tautologies,  which  are  in  fact  the  necessary  implements  of  their 
craft.  A  deficiency  of  words  is  no  doubt  oftener  than  the  contra- 
ry, the  cause  of  obscurity.  Brevis  esse  laboro,  obscurus  fio.f  But 
this  evil  may  also  be  the  effect  of  an  exuberance.  By  a  multi- 
plicity of  words  the  sentiment  is  not  set  off  and  accommodated,  but 
like  David  equipt  in  Saul's  armour,  it  is  encumbered  and  opprest. 
Yet  this  is  not  the  only,  nor  perhaps  the  worst  consequence  result- 
ing from  this  manner  of  treating  sacred  writ.  In  the  very  best  compo- 
sitions of  this  kind,  that  can  be  expected,  the  gospel  may  be  com- 
pared to  a  rich  wine  of  a  high  flavour,  diluted  in  such  a  quantity  of 
water,  as  renders  it  extremely  vapid.  This  would  be  the  case  if 
the  paraphrase  (which  is  indeed  hardly  possible)  took  no  tincture 
from  the  opinions  of  the  paraphrast,'but  exhibited  faithfully,  though 
insipidly,  the   sentiments  of  the  text.     Whereas  in  all  those  para- 

*  See  Philosophy  of  Rhetoric,  Book  III.  Chap.  2. 
1 1  labor  to  be  brief,  I  become  obscure. 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  83 

phrases  we  have  seen,  the  gospel  may  more  justly  be  compared  to 
such  a  wine  as  hath  been  mentioned,  so  much  adulterated  with  a 
liquor  of  a  very  different  taste  and  quality,  that  little  or  nothing  of 
its  original  relish  and  properties  can  be  discovered.  Accordingly 
in  one  paraphrase,  Jesus  Christ  appears  in  the  character  of  a  bigot- 
ted  papist,  in  another  of  a  flaming  Protestant ;  in  one  he  argues 
with  all  the  sophistry  of  the  Jesuit,  in  another  he  declaims  with  all 
the  fanaticism  of  the  Jansenist;  in  one  you  trace  the  metaphysical 
ratiocinations  of  Arminius,  in  another  you  recognise  the  bold  con- 
clusions of  Gomarus  ;  and  you  hear  the  language  of  a  man  who 
has  thoroughly  imbibed  the  system  of  one  or  another  of  our  Chris- 
tian rabbles.  So  various  and  so  opposite  are  the  characters,  whicl^ 
in  those  performances  our  Lord  is  made  to  sustain,  and  the  dialects 
which  he  is  made  to  speak.  How  different  is  his  own  character 
and  dialect  ?  If  we  be  susceptible  of  the  impartiality,  and  have  at- 
tained the  knowledge  requisite  to  constitute  us  proper  judges  in 
these  matters,  we  shall  find,  in  what  he  says,  nothing  that  can  be 
thought  to  favour  the  subtle  disquisitions  of  a  sect.  His  language 
is  not,  like  that  of  all  dogmatists,  the  language  of  a  bastard  philoso- 
phy, which  under  the  pretence  of  methodising  religion,  hath  cor- 
rupted it,  and  in  less  or  more  tinged  all  the  parties  into  which  Chris- 
tendom is  divided.  His  language  is  not  so  much  the  language  of 
the  head,  as  of  the  heart ;  his  object  is  not  science,  but  wisdom,  his 
discourses  accordingly  abound  more  in  sentiments,  than  in  opinions. 
His  diction  in  general  is  so  plain,  and  his  instructions  in  the 
main  are  so  obvious  and  striking,  that  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  con- 
ceive another  design  that  any  man  can  have  in  paraphrasing  them, 
than  to  give  what  I  may  call  an  evangelical  dress  to  his  own  no- 
tions, to  make  the  passages  of  our  Lord's  history,  his  sayings  and 
parables,  serve  as  a  kind  of  vehicle  for  conveying  into  the  minds  of 
the  readers  the  opinions  of  the  expositor.  And  is  not  this  actually 
the  effect  they  commonly  produce  in  their  too  implicit  and  habitual 
readers  1  Are  you  willing  to  call  the  ingenious  and  learned  Eras- 
mus, your  father  and  leader  and  master  in  religious  truths  ?  Do  you 
desire  to  understand  Christianity  no  otherwise  than  he  is  pleased  to 
exhibit  it?  Have  recourse  to  his  Latin  paraphrase  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament. Seek  the  religion  of  Jesus  only  there,  and  your  end  is 
answered.  Would  you  rather  pay  this  homage  to  some  of  our  En- 
glish interpreters?  Suppose  for  example  the  mild,  the xfispassionate, 
the  abstract,  the  rational  Dr.  Clarke.  Let  his  paraphrase  on  the 
gospel  serve  you,  as  all  the  information  needful  o(  the  history  and 


84  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

teaching  of  Jesus  :  or  if  the  devout,  the  warm,  the  serious  Dr.  Dod- 
dridge more  engages  you,  make  his  Family  Expositor  your  only 
counsellor  as  to  the  mind  and  will  of  Christ.  And  these  methods, 
I'll  answer  for  them,  are  the  surest  and  most  eflfectual,  for  making 
you  become  in  religion  the  servants  and  disciples  of  men.  But  if, 
on  the  contrary,  it  is  neither  the  gospel  of  Erasmus,  nor  the 
gospel  of  Clarke,  nor  the  gospel  of  Doddridge,  but  the  gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ,  that  you  want  to  be  acquainted  with  ;  if  you  would  not 
that  your  faith  should  stand  in  the  wisdom  of  men,  but  in  the  pow- 
er of  God  ;  if  sensible,  that  you  are  bought  with  a  price,  you  are  re- 
solved not  to  be  the  servants  of  men  ;  if  you  gratefully  and  gen- 
erously purpose  to  stand  fast  in  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ  hath 
made  you  free,  to  call  no  man  father  on  earth,  having  one  Father 
who  is  in  heaven,  and  to  call  no  man  rabbi,  leader,  head  or  master  on 
the  earth,  knowing  that  ye  yourselves  are  all  brethren,  and  have  one 
leader,  head  and  master  Christ,  who  is  at  the  right  hand  of  God ; 
if  this,  I  say,  is  your  settled  purpose,  read,  habituaUy  read  his  his^ 
tory  and  divine  lessons,  as  they  are  recorded  by  those,  whom  he 
himself  hath  employed,  and  whom  his  Spirit  hath  guided  in  the 
work,  the  evangelists  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke  and  John. 

I  shall  tell  you  honestly  my  opinion.  I  have  consulted  para- 
phrases occasionally,  and  those  too,  written  on  different  sides.  I 
have  compared  them  carefully  with  the  original  work  they  pretended 
to  illustrate ;  and  abstracting  from  all  other  faults  and  defects,  I 
have  always  found  them,  upon  the  whole,  much  inferior  to  the  text 
in  point  of  perspicuity.  The  latter  hath  ever  appeared  to  me  the 
more  intelligible  of  the  two.  I  do  not  say,  that  you  may  not  con- 
sult them  occasionally,  as  you  would  any  other  kind  of  exposition  or 
commentary.  But  1  repeat  it,  with  regard  to  all  kinds  of  interpre- 
tation whatever,  that  it  is  only  occasionally,  as  when  some  difficulty 
occurs  of  which  one  is  at  the  time  at  a  loss  to  think  of  a  satisfac- 
tory solution,  or  when  one  is  desirous  to  examine,  on  a  particular 
point,  the  diflferent  hypotheses  of  different  parties,  that  we  should 
have  recourse  to  them.  My  idea  with  regard  to  commentators, 
scholiasts,  paraphrasts,  and  the  whole  tribe  of  expositors,  is,  that 
they  are  to  be  consulted  in  the  same  way,  and  no  otherwise,  than 
we  do  glossaries  and  dictionaries  ;  which  is  only  when  any  thing 
perplexeth  us,  and  we  think  we  cannot  do  easily  without  them. 
But  no  one  of  them  whatever,  onght  to  be  made  our  guide  and 
conductor  in  Carrying  us  forward  through  the  sacred  pages. 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  85 

Further  in  the  choice  of  those  we  should  consult ;  there  can  be 
no  doubt  but  those  who  have  been  most  eminent  for  their  critical 
knowledge  and  freedom  of  spirit  (such  as  becomes  men  not  servilely 
attached  to  a  particular  sect  or  party)  are  entitled  to  the  preference. 
The  learning,  as  well  as  the  critical  acumen  and  ingenuity  of  Gro- 
tius,  have  stamped  a  value  upon  his  commentaries,  especially  on 
the  gospels,  which  has  hardly  been  equalled  by  any  that  has  come 
after  him.  Yet  I  am  far  from  saying,  he  is  to  be  followed  implicitly. 
He  has  fallen  into  gross  mistakes,  which  men  of  much  inferior 
genius  have  detected  and  avoided.  Hammond  and  Whitby,  as 
commentators,  have  their  merit.  Maldonat,  though  a  Romish  com- 
mentator, is  not  unworthy  the  attention  of  the  impartial  searcher 
after  truth.  But  stillit  must  be  remembered,  that  they  are  to  be 
consulted  occasionally  only,  and  we  are  to  exercise  our  own  judg- 
ments in  deciding.  In  arguments  and  objections,  as  well  as  in 
textuary  difficulties,  the  student's  first  resource  should  be  his  own 
reflections ;  when  the  sense  of  any  portion  of  scripture  is  concerned, 
a  critical  examination  of  the  passage  and  other  similar  passages 
should  come  next,  and  when  these  do  not  answer,  the  aid  of  scho- 
liasts, &c.  should  be  the  last  resource.  Let  it  be  a  standing  max- 
im, that  the  student's  business  is  more  an  habitual  exercise  of  reflec- 
tion, than  barely  of  reading  and  remembrance.  Are  we  no  longer 
babes  ?  Have  we  arrived  at  some  maturity  in  Christian  knowledge  ? 
Are  our  faculties  at  length  enlarged  and  strengthened  by  exercise, 
and  shall  we  hesitate  to  employ  these  faculties,  when  to  leave  them 
unemployed,  is  the  surest  way  possible  to  debilitate  them  ?  When 
we  may  walk  like  men;  shall  we  require  to  be  carried,  or  at  least  to 
be  led  by  the  hand,  or  supported  by  leading-strings  like  children  ? 

I  know  there  are  many  very  serious  persons,  who  neverthe- 
less, attached  by  custom  to  human  guidance  in  matters  of  reli- 
gion, will  not  be  able  to  relish  such  an  indiscriminate  rejection 
of  expositors.  One  favourite  author  at  least  they  would  have 
excepted,  and  cannot  allow  themselves  to  think,  that  one  is  not 
more  secure  against  error  by  the  help  of  his  direction,  than  by 
the  light  of  holy  writ  alone.  Nothing  is  more  difficult  than  to 
convince  men  of  the  most  glaring  inconsistencies,  to  which,  prior 
to  reflection,  they  have  become  habituated,  and  which  therefore 
have  acquired  an  inveteracy  hardly  to  be  cured.  Scripture,  they 
readily  admit,  to  be  the  only  divine  and  infallible  rule;  all  hu- 
man interpreters,  they  will  frankly  acknowledge,  to  be  fallible, 
11 


86  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

and  yet  'tis  manifest  that  in  human  guidance  they  think  there  is 
greater  safety.  They  will  indeed  tell  you,  that  it  is  by  the  unerring 
decision  of  scripture  that  all  the  doctrines  of  erring  men  are  to  be 
judged ;  and  yet  what  the  sense  of  scripture  is,  they  will  learn  no 
otherwise,  than  from  the  doctrines  of  erring  men.  Can  any  thing 
be  more  manifest,  than  that  it  is  an  empty  compliment  they  pay 
the  scriptures,  and  that  their  only  confidence  is  in  man  ?  Suppose, 
for  example,  that  a  body  politic,  or  community,  were  to  constitute 
certain  persons  judges  of  all  those  who  should  be  impeached  before 
them  in  any  cause  civil  or  criminal,  declaring  themselves  resolved 
to  see  that  the  sentences  of  the  judges  shall  be  rigorously  executed, 
but  at  the  same  time  signifying  that  they  were  also  resolved  to  con- 
stitute the  parties  the  interpreters  of  the  sentences  in  their  own 
case,  and  that  according  to  their  interpretation  only,  the  execution 
was  to  proceed ;  could  any  thing  be  more  absurd,  more  selfsub- 
versive  than  such  a  constitution  ?  Could  any  thing  be  more  nuga- 
tory than  the  power  they  pretended  to  confer  on  the  judges  1  Yet 
is  not  the  manner  in  which  scripture  is  complimented,  by  almost  all 
sects,  at  least  all  sectarists,  with  an  authority  merely  nominal,  ex- 
actly similar?  Shall  1  be  thought  to  endanger  the  cause  of  truth, 
the  cause  of  Protestantism  and  of  the  reformation,  by  insisting  so 
much  on  what  this  very  cause  hath  laid  down  as  a  fundamental 
principle  ?  Is  not  scripture,  with  all  Protestants,  the  only  tribunal, 
in  the  last  resort,  in  all  questions  of  faith  ?  Do  they  admit  an  ap- 
peal from  the  verdict  of  this  supreme  arbitress,  either  to  the  judg- 
ment of  individuals,  or  to  that  of  any  societies  of  men,  whatever 
denomination  you  may  please  to  give  them,  or  with  whatever  juris- 
diction you  may  think  fit  to  vest  them  ?  Is  not  her  decision,  on 
the  contrary,  admitted  on  all  hands  to  be  final  ?  Hear  the  church 
of  England  on  this  point.  Article  sixth,  entitled,  "  Of  the  Suffi- 
ciency of  the  Holy  Scriptures  for  Salvation.  Holy  Scripture  con- 
taineth  all  things  necessary  to  salvation ;  so  that  whatever  is  not 
read  therein,  nor  may  be  proved  thereby,  is  not  to  be  required 
of  any  man,  that  it  should  be  believed  as  an  article  of  the  faith,  or 
be  thought  requisite  or  necessary  to  salvation."  And  again,  article 
twenty-first,  entitled,  *'  Of  the  Authority  of  General  Councils. 
When  they  (general  councils)  be  gathered  together  (for  as  much  as 
they  be  an  assembly  of  men  whereof  all  be  not  governed  with  the 
Spirit  and  word  of  God)  they  may  err,  and  sometimes  have  erred, 
even  in  things  pertaining  unto  God.  Wherefore  things  ordained 
by  them  as  necessary  to  salvation,  have  neither  strength  nor  author- 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  87 

ity,  unless  it  may  be  declared,  that  they  be  taken  out  of  holy  scrip- 
ture." Hear  on  the  same  head  the  avowed  sentiments  of  the  church 
of  Scotland.  Westminster  Confession,  first  chapter,  entitled,  Of 
the  Holy  ScripiurCy  sixth  paragraph.  "  The  whole  counsel  of  God 
concerning  all  things  necessary  for  his  own  glory,  man's  salvation, 
faith  and  life,  is  either  expressly  set  down  in  scripture,  or  by  good 
and  necessary  consequence  may  be  deduced  from  scripture;  unto 
which  nothing  at  any  time  is  to  be  added."  Again,  chapter  thirty- 
first,  entitled.  Of  Synods  and  Councils^  fourth  paragraph.  *'  Ail 
synods  or  councils,  since  the  apostles'  time,  whether  general  or  par- 
ticular,  may  err,  and  many  have  erred,  therefore  they  are  not  to  be 
made  the  rule  of  faith  or  practice,  but  to  be  read  as  an  help  in 
both." 

I  am  aware  that  an  argument  may  be  drawn  (which  to  some  will 
no  doubt  appear  plausible)  from  these  very  declarations.  If  private 
men  have  erred,  if  even  synods  and  councils  have  erred,  would  it 
not  be  extreme  arrogance  in  me,  may  one  say,  unassisted  and  alone 
in  my  inquiries,  to  think  that  I  should  escape  error  altogether? 
But  how  easily  is  this  plea  retorted.  If  private  persons,  if  even  the 
wise  and  learned  have  erred,  if  synods  and  councils  have  erred, 
what  security  have  I  in  their  direction  1  Yet  that  all  these  have 
erred,  egregiously  erred,  appears  unquestionably  from  their  mutual 
contradictions  and  jars.  On  the  other  side,  there  is  no  such  ground 
of  fear  from  the  aforesaid  reflection  (as  one  would  at  first  imagine) 
that  in  our  inquiries  into  scripture  we  shall  err  materially,  even 
though  alone  and  unassisted  by  any  human  expositor  or  council.  I 
have  before  now  assigned  the  reason,  why  human  interpretations  of 
scripture,  whether  private  or  what  hath  been  called  authoritative, 
are,  notwithstanding  the  perspicuity  of  that  book,  so  infinitely  va- 
rious. The  same  would  be  the  fate  of  any  book  whatever  that  were 
treated  in  the  same  manner.  Men  begin  with  deriving  their  opinions 
from  another  sourc«,  apd  being  perfectly  full  of  these  opinions  and 
wedded  to  them,  they  have  recourse  to  scripture,  not  to  discover  the 
doctrines  contained  there,  but  to  discover  there  their  own  opinions, 
that  is,  in  other  words,  to  exercise  all  their  art  and  ingenuity  to  give 
such  a  turn  to  the  expressions  of  scripture,  as  will  make  them  seem 
to  authorize  their  favourite  notions.  Often  men's  worldly  interest 
too,  which  blindeth  even  the  wise,  is  concerned  on  a  side.  That 
scripture  should  be  intelligible,  is  implied  in  the  very  idea  of  its 
being  a  revelation  of  the  will  of  God.  That  this  revelation  stands 
in  need  of  a  revelation  in  order  to  be  understood,  that  is,  in  other 


88  ^  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

words,  is  itself  no  revelation  at  all,  is  indeed  the  doctrine  of  the 
Romanists,  and  a  doctrine  of  importance  with  them,  inconsistent 
as  it  is,  to  make  room  for  their  infallible  interpreter.  But  the  Prot- 
estant doctrine  of  the  sufficiency  of  scripture,  without  any  such 
interpreter,  doth  clearly  imply,  that  it  is  possest  of  all  necessary 
perspicuity.  How  strongly  is  this  affirmed  in  the  first  chapter  of  the 
Westminster  Confession  above  quoted,  the  seventh  paragraph? 
*'  All  things  in  scripture  are  not  alike  plain  in  themselves,  nor  alike 
clear  unto  all ;  yet  those  things  which  are  necessary  to  be  known, 
believed  and  observed  for  salvation,  are  so  clearly  propounded,  and 
opened  in  some  place  of  scripture  or  other,  that  not  only  the  learned 
but  the  unlearned,  in  a  due  use  of  the  ordinary  means,  may  attain 
unto  a  sufficient  understanding  of  them."  In  the  judgment  of  the 
reformed  churches  therefore,  in  the  judgment  of  our  own  in  par- 
ticular, the  study  of  scripture  itself  is  not  only  the  safest,  but  the 
only  safe  way  of  arriving  at  the  knowledge  of  divine  truth,  since  it 
is  both  the  only  infallible  rule,  and  in  all  essential  natters  suffi- 
ciently perspicuous.  And  permit  me  to  add,  were  there  greater 
risk  of  error  than  there  is,  error  itself  must  be  less  culpable  to  those 
who  enter  seriously  and  impartially  on  this  examination,  and  thus 
take'the  best  method  in  their  power  for  avoiding  it,  than  it  is  to 
those,  vvho  blindly  and  lazily  admit  opinions  for  no  better  reason, 
than  because  they  are  the  opinions  of  the  country,  or  of  the  sect  in 
which  they  have  been  educated,  or  of  some  celebrated  doctor  whom 
they  have  been  early  taught  to  revere.  Such,  it  is  manifest,  have  no 
better  reason  for  their  being  Christians,  than  the  Jews  have  for  their 
not  being  Christians,  the  Turks  for  their  being  Mahometans,  or 
the  Tartars  for  their  being  pagans  ;  and  whatever  apology  may  be 
made  for  the  illiterate,  and  those  whose  time  is  mostly  occupied  in 
earning  daily  bread,  surely  there  is  no  excuse  for  those,  who  have 
had  the  advantage  of  a  liberal  education,  and  who  have  the  prospect 
of  serving  in  the  church  as  lights  to  others.        , 

But  should  any  be  disposed  to  object,  How  is  it  possible  to  study 
by  the  aid  of  human  compositions,  and  avoid  the  influence  of  hu- 
man teachers?  Though  the  method  you  have  recommended  is  by 
no  means  that  which  is  commonly  pursued  ;  yet  it  requires  a  good 
deal  of  reading  and  study,  besides  that  of  scripture,  as  well  as  the 
common  method.  You  do  not  enjoin  us  to  begin  with  systems  and 
controversies,  and  commentators,  and  scholiasts,  and  paraphrasts ; 
on  the  contrary,  with  these,  you  tell  us,  the  study  of  theology  should 
be  concluded  and  not  commenced  :    but  do  you  not  require  us  to 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  89 

apply  directly  to  certain  histories  and  antiquities,  do  you  not  desire 
us  to  betake  ourselves  to  grammars  and  lexicons,  to  have  recourse 
to  the  study  of  languages,  particularly  the  Oriental  and  the  Greek, 
to  become  acquainted  with  the  scriptures  in  the  original  tongues, 
and  with  the  ancient  translation  of  the  seventy?  All  this  is 
most  certain  truth  ;  but  do  you  observe  no  difference  in  the  effect 
which  these  different  methods  may  be  expected  naturally  to 
produce  ?  We  recommend  the  study  of  the  scriptures,  as  contain- 
ing the  whole  of  Christian  theology.  But  then  the  scriptures  were 
written  neither  in  this  age,  nor  in  this  country,  nor  in  our  lan- 
guage. We  have  indeed  a  translation  of  them,  which  is  in  the 
main  a  good  one,  but  which,  though  it  may  serve  the  purposes  of 
the  generality  of  Christians,  ought  not  to  satisfy  the  ministers  of 
religion,  who  should  be  in  a  capacity  of  solving  the  doubts  and 
removing  the  difficulties  of  others.  We  do  not  ascribe  infallibility 
to  any  translator  ;  and  therefore  when  this  term  is  applied  to  holy 
writ,  it  is  of  the  original  only,  that  it  must  in  strictness  be  under- 
stood. Had  a  complete  revelation  been  given  at  once  in  our  own 
age  and  country,  and  had  been  committed  to  writing  in  our  own 
tongue,  it  is  manifest  that  little  or  no  human  learning  would  have 
been  necessary.  But  in  all  the  respects  mentioned  the  actual  case 
greatly  differed.  A  long  tract  of  ages  is  comprehended  between 
the  commencement  and  the  sealing  or  conclusion  of  this  revelation, 
the  languages  in  which  it  is  written  are  foreign,  the  country  which 
was  the  scene  of  those  wonderful  exhibitions  it  contains  of  divine 
power  and  mercy  is  remote,  and  the  period,  in  which  that  whole 
manifestation  was  closed,  is  at  the  distance  of  many  centuries  from 
the  present.  Out  of  these  very  circumstances  duly  attended  to, 
results  the  necessity  of  all  those  studies  we  have  recommended. 
If  the  oracles  of  God  are  delivered  in  foreign  languages,  it  is  cer- 
tain, that  unless  we  are  supplied  with  supernatural  means  of  com- 
ing at  this  knowledge,  the  study  of  the  languages  is  the  only  nat- 
ural and  ordinary  means.  It  were  easy  to  show  the  necessity  of 
all  the  other  studies  from  the  same  principles.  The  scriptures  were 
written  in  distant  ages,  and  allude  to  many  transactions,  then,  but 
not  now,  familiarly  known  in  the  world,  addressed  to  people  who 
differed  from  us,  as  much  in  manners,  ceremonies,  customs,  and 
opinions,  as  in  language.  An  acquaintance  with  these  transactions 
and  differences,  therefore,  as  far  as  we  can  attain  it,  is  in  effect,  as 
hath  been  often  hinted  already,  a  more  thorough  acquaintance  with 
the  scriptural  idiom  and  dialect.      If  after  this  we  proceed  to  the 


90  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

study  of  systems  and  commentaries  and  controversies,  we  have 
acquired  a  fund  of  our  own,  from  which  we  may  form  a  judgment 
in  regard  to  their  jarring  sentiments.  But  if  without  any  such  fund 
for  judging,  without  a  competency  of  knowledge  either  in  scrip- 
ture language  or  scripture  history,  we  have  immediate  recourse  to 
system  makers  and  expositors  and  controversialists,  we  are  perfectly 
bewildered,  and  must  therefore  either  deliver  ourselves  up  implicitly 
to  the  guidance  of  some  one  or  more  whom  we  pitch  upon  at 
random,  or  be  lost  in  absolute  scepticism.  The  study  of  language 
and  history  doth  not  indeed  present  you  with  particular  opinions 
formed  upon  particular  passages  of  scripture ;  it  is  for  that  very 
reason  quite  above  the  suspicion  of  partiality.  But  it  doth  what  is 
much  more  valuable.  It  furnishes  us  with  those  first  principles  of 
knowledge,  from  which  an  attentive  and  judicious  person  will  be 
enabled  to  draw  proper  conclusions,  and  form  just  opinions  for  him- 
self. The  other  way  is  indeed  better  adapted  to  gratify  the  laziness 
of  the  sciolist,  who  would  be  thought  learned,  but  cannot  bear, 
even  for  the  sake  of  learning,  to  be  at  the  least  expense  of  thought 
and  reflection. 

The  man  who  advises  such  an  easy  method,  which  I  acknowledge 
is  by  far  the  commonest,  is  like  one  who  tells  you,  "  This  writing, 
the  contents  of  which  you  are  anxious  to  be  acquainted  with,  you 
need  not  take  the  trouble  to  peruse  yourself.  It  is  but  dimly  writ- 
ten, and  we  have  now  only  twilight.  1  have  better  eyes,  and  am 
acquainted  with  the  character.  Do  but  attend,  and  I  shall  read  it 
distinctly  in  your  hearing."  On  the  other  hand,  he  who  with  me 
advises  the  other  method,  is  like  one  who  says,  **  Take  this  writing 
into  your  own  hand.  I  shall  procure  you  a  supply  of  light,  and 
though  the  character  is  rather  old,  yet  with  some  attention,  in  com- 
paring one  part  with  another,  you  will  soon  be  familiarized  to  it, 
and  may  then  read  it  for  yourself."  In  a  matter  of  little  moment, 
and  where  there  can  be  no  danger  of  deception,  it  may  be  said, 
and  justly  said,  the  first  method  is  the  best,  because  the  easiest  and 
quickest.  But  suppose  it  is  an  affair  of  great  importance  to  you, 
and  that  there  is  real  danger  of  deception ;  suppose  further,  that 
your  anxiety  having  led  you  to  employ  different  readers,  the  conse- 
quence hath  been,  that  each  reader,  to  your  great  astonishment, 
discovers  things  in  the  writing,  which  were  not  discovered  by  the 
rest ;  nay  more,  that  the  discoveries  of  the  different  readers  are  con- 
tradictory to  one  another ;  would  you  not  then  be  satisfied,  that  the 
only  part  a  reasonable  man  could  take,  would  be  to  recur  to  the 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  91 

second  method  mentioned  ?  Now  this  is  precisely  the  case  with  the 
point  in  hand. 

I  shall  illustrate  the  difference  between  these  methods  by  one 
other  example,  and  then  have  done.  You  intend  to  travel  into  a 
foreign  country,  where  you  propose  to  transact  a  great  deal  of  bu- 
siness with  the  natives.  You  go,  1  shall  first  suppose,  without  know- 
ing any  thing  of  the  language  of  the  country.  In  all  the  affairs 
you  have  to  transact  with  the  inhabitants,  as  you  find  yourself  unable 
to  convey  to  them  directly  your  sentiments,  or  to  apprehend  theirs,  in 
the  only  manner  they  are  able  to  communicate  them ;  as  you  daily 
receive  letters,  which  you  cannot  read,  or  give  a  return  to,  in  a  lan- 
guage that  can  be  read  by  them,  you  are  compelled  every  moment 
to  have  recourse  to  interpreters,  a  method  extremely  cumbersome 
tedious,  and  dangerous  at  the  best.  You  are  entirely  at  the  mercy 
of  those  interpreters ;  their  want  of  knowledge,  or  their  want  of 
honesty,  may  be  equally  prejudicial  to  you.  A  very  slight  blunder  of 
theirs  arising  from  an  imperfect  acquaintance  with  either  language, 
may  be  productive  of  consequences  the  most  ruinous  to  your  affairs. 
Let  us  now  again  suppose  you  take  a  different  method.  You 
make  it  your  first  object  to  study  the  language,  and  are  become  a 
tolerable  proficient  in  it,  before  you  go  abroad,  or  at  least  before 
you  enter  on  any  important  business  with  the  natives.  This, 
though  a  harder  task  at  first  setting  out,  greatly  facilitates  your  in- 
tercourse with  the  people  afterwards,  and  gives  you  a  certain  secu- 
rity and  independence  in  all  your  transactions  with  them,  which  it 
is  impossible  you  could  ever  have  otherwise  enjoyed.  You  may  then 
occasionally  and  safely,  where  any  doubt  arise th,  consult  an  in- 
terpreter ;  the  resources  in  point  of  knowledge,  which  you  have 
provided  for  yourself,  will  prove  a  sufficient  check  on  him,  to  pre- 
vent his  having  it  in  his  power  to  deceive  you  in  a  matter  of  mo- 
ment. I  shall  leave  you,  gentlemen,  to  make  the  application  of 
these  two  suppositions  at  your  leisure. 


ON  PULPIT  ELOaUENCE. 


LECTURE  I. 


Importance  of  the  Study,  and  Objections  against  it  answered — Helps  for  the 
Attainment  of  the  Art. 

IT  is  not  enough  for  the  Christian  minister,  that  he  be  instructed 
in  the  science  of  theology,  unless  he  has  the  skill  to  apply  his 
knowledge,  to  answer  the  different  purposes  of  the  pastoral  charge. 
And  the  first  thing,  that  on  this  article  seems  to  merit  our  atten- 
tion, is  the  consideration  of  the  minister,  in  the  character  of  a  pub- 
lic speaker ;  and  that,  both  in  his  addresses  to  God  on  the  part  of 
the  people  in  worship,  and  his  addresses  to  the  people  on  the  part 
of  God  in  preaching.  Of  the  importance  of  this  last  part  of  the 
character,  as  a  public  teacher,  no  one  can  reasonably  doubt, 
who  considers  that  it  was  one  great  part,  if  not  the  principal  part 
of  the  charge  which  the  apostles  received  from  our  Lord,  Matt, 
xxviii.  19,  20,  **  Go  ye,  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing 
them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have  com- 
manded you."  And  again,  Mark  xvi.  15,  **  Go  ye  into  all  the 
world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature."  And  without 
derogating  from  those  solemn  institutions  of  our  religion,  which  in 
after  times  came  to  be  denominated  sacraments,  preaching  may  in 
one  view,  at  least,  be  said  to  be  of  more  consequence  than  they,  in 
as  much  as  a  suitable  discharge  of  the  business  of  a  teacher  un- 
doubtedly requires  abilities  superior  to  those  requisite  for  the  prop- 
er performance  of  the  other,  a  part  in  comparison  merely  ministeri- 
al or  official.  It  is  besides  the  great  means  of  conversion  as  well 
as  of  edification.  "  Faith  cometh  by  hearing,"  says  the  apostle. 
The  ministry  of  our  Lord,  to  his  kinsmen  the  Jews,  consisted  chief- 
12 


^nr'^^^^. 


94  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

ly  in  teaching  ;  for  the  evangelist,  John  iv.  2,  expressly  tells  us  that 
Jesus  baptized  none ;  this,  as  comparatively  an  underwork,  was 
intrusted  entirely  to  his  disciples.  And  the  apostle  Paul  acquaints 
the  Corinthians  i.  1,  17,  that  Christ  sent  him  not  to  baptize,  but  to 
preach  the  gospel ;  that  the  latter  and  not  the  former  was  the  princi- 
pal end  of  his  mission.  When  it  pleased  God  by  the  conversion  of 
Cornelius  the  Roman  centurion  to  open  the  door  of  faith  to  the 
Gentiles,  no  less  a  person  than  Peter,  the  first  of  the  apostolical 
college,  was  selected  for  announcing  to  him  and  his  family  the  gos- 
pel of  Christ ;  but  after  they  were  converted  by  his  preaching,  the 
apostle  did  not  consider  it  as  any  impropriety  to  commit  the  care  of 
baptizing  them  to  meaner  hands.  "  He  (that  is,  Peter,)  command- 
ed them  to  be  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Lord."  Acts  x.  48. 
What  hath  been  said,  however,  is  by  no  means  intended  to  arraign 
the  propriety  of  limiting  to  a  lower  number,  in  churches  which  are 
already  constituted,  the  power  of  dispensing  the  sacraments,  than  is 
done  in  regard  to  the  power  of  preaching.  The  near  connection 
which  the  former  has  with  discipline  and  order  in  a  Christian  soci- 
ety already  established,  affords  a  very  good  reason  for  this  difference. 
But  if  teaching  is  a  matter  of  so  much  consequence,  and  if  the  pro- 
per discharge  of  this  duty  is  a  matter  of  principal  difficulty,  it  ought 
doubtless  to  employ  a  considerable  part  of  the  student's  time  and 
attention  that  he  may  be  properly  prepared  for  it.  Indeed  it  may 
be  said,  that  the  study  of  the  science  of  theology  is  itself  a  prepar* 
ation,  and  in  part  it  no  doubt  is  so,  as  it  furnishes  him  with  the 
materials  ;  but  the  materials  alone  will  not  serve  his  purpose,  unless 
he  has  acquired  the  art  of  using  them.  And  it  is  this  art  in 
preaching  which  I  denominate  Christian  or  pulpit  eloquence.  To 
know  is  one  thing  ;  and  to  be  capable  of  communicating  knowledge 
is  another. 

I  am  sensible,  however,  that  there  are  many  pious  Christians,  who 
are  startled  at  the  name  of  eloquence  when  applied  to  the  Christian 
teacher ;  they  are  disposed  to  consider  it  as  setting  an  office,  which 
in  its  nature  is  spiritual,  and  in  its  origin  divine,  too  much  on  a 
footing  with  those  which  are  merely  human  and  secular.  And  this 
turn  of  thinking  I  have  always  found  to  proceed  from  one  or  other 
of  these  two  causes  ;  either  from  a  mistake  of  what  is  meant  by 
eloquence,  or  from  a  misapprehension  of  some  passages  of  holy  writ 
in  relation  to  the  sacred  function.  First,  it  arises  from  a  mistaken 
notion  of  the  import  of  the  word.  It  often  happens  both  among 
philosophers  and  divines  that  violent  and  endless  disputes  are  car- 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  95 

ried  on  by  adverse  parties,  which,  were  they  to  begin  by  settling 
a  definition  of  the  term  whereon  the  question  turns,  would  vanish 
in  an  instant.  Were  these  people  then,  who  appear  to  differ  from 
:js,  on  the  propriety  of  employing  eloquence,  to  give  an  explication 
of  the  ideas  they  comprehend  under  the  term  eloquence  or  oratory, 
we  should  doubtless  get  from  them  some  such  account  as  this,  a 
knacky  or  artifice,  by  which  the  periods  of  a  discourse  are  curiously 
and  harmoniously  strung  together,  decorated  with  many  flowery 
images,  tlie  whole  entirely  calculated  to  set  off  the  speaker's  art  by 
pleasing  the  ear  and  amusing  the  fancy  of  the  hearers,  but  by  no 
means  calculated  either  to  inform  their  understandings  or  to  engage 
theit  hearts.  Perhaps  those  people  will  be  surprised,  when  I  tell 
them,  that  commonly  no  discourses  whatever,  not  even  the  home- 
liest, have  less  of  true  eloquence,  than  such  frothy  harangues,  as 
perfectly  suit  their  definition.  If  this,  then,  is  all  they  mean  to  in- 
veigh against  under  the  name  eloquence^  I  will  join  issue  with  them 
with  all  my  heart.  Nothing  can  be  less  worthy  the  study  or  atten- 
tion of  a  wise  man,  and  much  more  may  this  be  said  of  a  Christian 
pastor,  than  such  a  futile  acquisition  as  that  above  described.  But 
if,  on  the  contrary,  nothing  else  is  meant  by  eloquence,  in  the  use 
of  all  the  wisest  and  the  best  who  have  written  on  the  subject,  but 
that  art  or  talent,  whereby  the  speech  is  adapted  to  produce  in  the 
hearer  the  great  end  which  the  speaker  has,  or  at  least  ought  to 
have  principally  in  view,  it  is  impossible  to  doubt  the  utility  of  the 
study ;  unless  people  will  be  absurd  enough  to  question,  whether 
there  be  any  difference  between  speaking  to  the  purpose  and  speak- 
ing from  the  purpose,  expressing  one's  self  intelligibly  or  unintelli- 
gibly, reasoning  in  a  manner  that  is  conclusive  and  satisfactory,  or 
in  such  a  way  as  can  convince  nobody,  fixing  the  attention  and  mov- 
ing the  affections  of  an  audience,  or  leaving  them  in  a  state  per- 
fectly listless  and  unconcerned. 

But,  as  I  signified  already,  there  are  prejudices  against  this  stu- 
dy in  the  Christian  orator,  arising  from  another  source,  the  prom- 
ises of  the  immediate  influence  of  the  divine  Spirit,  the  commands 
of  our  Lord  to  his  disciples,  to  avoid  all  concern  and  solicitude  on 
this  article,  and  the  example  of  some  of  the  apostle  who  disclaimed 
expressly  the  advantages  resulting  from  the  study  of  rhetoric,  or  in- 
deed of  any  human  art,  or  institute  whatever.  In  answer  to 
such  objections,  I  must  beg  leave  to  ask,  Are  we  not  in  the  prom- 
ises of  our  Saviour,  to  distinguish  those,  which  were  made  to  his 
disciples,  merely  as  Christians,  or  his  followers  in  the  way  to  the 


96  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

kingdom,  from  those  made  indeed  to  the  same  persons,  but  consid- 
ered in  the  character  of  apostles,  the  promulgators  of  his  doc- 
trine among  Jews  and  pagans,  and  the  first  founders  of  his  church? 
Are  we  entitled  to  apply  to  ourselves  those  promises  made  to  the 
apostles,  or  even  the  first  Christians,  manifestly  for  the  conviction 
and  conversion  of  an  infidel  world  ?  "  These  signs,"  says  Christ, 
"  shall  follow  them  that  believe  :  In  my  name  shall  they  cast  out  dev- 
ils :  they  shall  speak  with  new  tongues  ;  they  shall  take  up  serpents ; 
and  if  they  drink  any  deadly  thing,  it  shall  not  hurt  them  ;  they  shall 
lay  hands  on  the  sick,  and  they  shall  recover."  Do  we  now  expect 
such  signs  to  follow  upon  our  faith  ?  And  is  not  the  promise  of  im- 
mediate inspiration  on  any  emergency  (which  is  doubtless  a  mirac- 
ulous gift  as  well  as  those  above  enumerated)  to  be  considered  as  of 
the  same  nature,  and  given  for  the  same  end  ?  And  ought  not  all  these 
precepts,  to  which  promises  of  this  supernatural  kind  are  annexed 
as  the  reason,  to  be  understood  with  the  same  restriction  1  When 
our  Lord  foretold  his  disciples,  that  they  should  be  brought  before 
kings  and  rulers  for  his  name's  sake,  he  adds,  *'  Settle  it  in  your 
hearts  not  to  meditate  before  what  you  shall  answer  ;  for  I  will  give 
you  a  mouth  and  wisdom  which  all  your  adversaries  shall  not  be 
able  to  gainsay  or  resist."  It  is  manifest  the  obligation  of  the  pre- 
cept can  only  be  explained  by  a  proper  apprehension  of  the  extent 
of  the  promise.  But  the  truth  is,  that  few  or  none,  in  these  our 
days,  would  consider  premeditation  in  such  circumstances  as  eith- 
er unlawful  or  improper.  Who,  even  among  those  who  inveigh 
most  bitterly  against  the  study  of  eloquence  for  the  pulpit,  does 
ever  so  much  as  pretend  that  we  ought  not  to  meditate,  or  so  much 
as  think,  on  any  subject  before  we  preach  upon  it?  And  yet  the 
letter  of  the  precept,  nay,  and  the  spirit  too,  strikes  more  directly 
against  particular  premeditation,  than  against  the  general  study  of 
the  art  of  speaking.  It  is  more  a  particular  application  of  the  art,  than 
the  art  itself,  that  is  here  pointed  at.  And  as  to  what  the  great  apos- 
tle of  the  Gentiles  hath  said  on  this  article,  it  will  serve,  I  am  per- 
suaded, to  every  attentive  reader,  as  a  confirmation  of  what  has  been 
advanced  above,  in  regard  to  the  true  meaning  of  such  promises  and 
precepts,  and  the  limitations  with  which  they  ought  to  be  under- 
stood. Well  might  he  renounce  every  art  which  man's  wisdom 
teacheth,  whose  speech  was  accompanied  with  the  demonstration  of 
the  spirit  and  of  power  ;  that  is,  with  those  miraculous  gifts,  which 
were  so  admirably  calculated  to  silence  contradiction,  and  to  convince 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  97 

the  most  incredulous.     But  the  truth  is,  there  is  not  one  argument 
can  be  taken  from  those  precepts  and  examples,  that  will  not  equally 
conclude  against  all  human  learning  whatsoever,  as  against  the  study 
of  rhetoric.     Because  the  apostles  could  preach  to  men  of  every  na- 
tion without  studying  their  language,  in  consequence  of  the  gift  of 
tongues  with    which  they  were  supernaturally  endowed,  shall  we 
think  to  convert  strangers,  with  whose  speech  we  are  totally  unac- 
quainted, and  not  previously  apply  to  grammars,  and  lexicons,  and 
other   helps,  for  attaining  the  language  ?    Or  because  Paul,  as  he 
himself  expressly  tells  us,  received  the  knowledge  of  the  gospel  by 
immediate  inspiration,  shall  we  neglect  the  study  of  the  scriptures 
and  other  outward  means  of  instruction  ?  There  have  been,  I  own, 
some  enthusiasts  who  have  carried  the  matter  as  far  as  this.     And 
though  hardly  any  person   of   the   least  reflection,  would  argue  in 
such  a  manner  now,  it  must  be  owned  that  the  very  same  premises, 
by  which  any  human  art  or   institute  in   itself  useful,  is   excluded, 
will  equally  answer  the  purposes  of  such  fanatics  in  excluding  all. 
And  to  the   utility,    and   even   importance  of  the   rhetorical  art, 
scripture  itself  bears  testimony.     Is  it  not  mentioned  by  the  sacred 
historian  in  recommendation  of  Apollos,  that  he  was  "  an  eloquent 
man,"  as  well  as  mighty  in  the  scriptures?  And  is  not  his  success 
manifestly  ascribed,  under  God,  to  these  advantages  ?  There  is  no 
mention  of  any  supernatural  gifts,  which  he  could  receive   only  by 
the  imposition  of  the  hands  of  an  apostle  ;  and  it  appears  from  the 
history,  that  before  he  had   any  interview  with  the  apostles,  imme- 
diately after  his  conversion,  he  mightily   convinced  the  Jews,  and 
that   publicly,    shewing  from  the   scriptures   that   Jesus   was   the 
Christ.     The  very  words  used  by  the  inspired  penmen  are  such  as 
are  familiar  with  rhetoricians  in  relation  to  the  forensic  eloquence, 
EvTovui  yoce,  '^^^'i  Ia^«f<o<?  ^tuKxrviXty^flo,   Acriter,  vehementer,  magna 
contentione.     Now   though  it   is  not  permitted   to   us  to  reach  the 
celestial  heights  of  a  Peter  or  a  Paul,  I  see  nothing  to  hinder  our 
aspiring  to  the  humbler  attainments  of  an  Apollos.     But  enough, 
and  perhaps  too  much,  for  obviating  objections,  which  I  cannot  al- 
low myself  to  think,   will  have  great  weight  with  gentlemen,  who 
have  been  so  long  employed  in  the  study  of  the  learned  languages, 
and  of  the  liberal  arts  and  sciences.     However,  when  one  hath  oc- 
casion to  hear  such  arguments  (if  indeed  they  deserve  to  be  called 
so)  advanced  by  others,  it  may  be  of  some  utility  to  be  provided 
with  an  answer. 


98  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

The  next  point,  and  which  is  of  the  greatest  consequence,  is,  In 
what  manner  this  art  or  talent  may  be  attained,  at  least  as  much  of 
it  as  is  suited  to  the  business  of  preaching,  and  is  on  moral  and  reli- 
gious subjects  best  adapted  to  the  ends  of  instruction  and  persua- 
sion 1  When  I  gave  you  a  general  sketch  of  my  plan,  I  observed 
on  this  article  that  in  a  great  measure  the  talents  required  in  the 
preacher  are  such  as  are  necessary  to  him  in  common  with  every 
other  public  speaker,  whatever  be  the  scene  of  his  appearances, 
whether  it  be  his  lot  to  deliver  his  orations  in  the  senate,  at  the  bar, 
or  from  the  pulpit.  Now  what  the  preacher  must  have  in  common 
with  those  of  so  many  other  and  very  different  professions,  it  can- 
not be  expected  that  here  we  should  treat  particularly,  especially 
when  it  is  considered  how  many  other  things  have  a  preferable  ti- 
tle to  our  notice.  What  indeed  is  peculiar  in  the  eloquence  of  the 
pulpit  will  deserve  a  more  particular  consideration.  But  though 
we  do  not  from  this  place  propose  to  give  an  instilute  of  rhetoric,  it 
will  not  be  improper  to  give  some  directions  in  relation  to  the  the- 
ory of  it,  and  particularly  to  the  reading  both  of  ancient  and  mod- 
ern authors,  whence  the  general  knowledge  of  the  subject,  which 
is  too  much  neglected  by  theological  students,  may  be  had.  When 
we  consider  the  nature  of  this  elegant  and  useful  art  with  any  de- 
gree of  attention,  we  shall  soon  be  convinced,  that  it  is  a  certain 
improvement  on  the  arts  of  grammar  and  logic ;  on  which  it 
founds,  and  without  which  it  could  have  no  existence.  On  the 
other  hand,  without  this,  these  arts  would  lose  much  of  their  utility 
and  end,  for  it  is  by  the  art  of  rhetoric,  that  we  are  enabled  to  make 
our  knowledge  in  language,  and  skill  in  reasoning,  turn  to  the  best 
account  for  the  instruction  and  persuasion  of  others.  The  wise  in 
heart,"  saith  Solomon,  "  shall  be  called  prudent,  but  the  sweetness 
of  the  lips  increaseth  learning."* 

Now  the  best  preparation  for  an  orator,  on  whatever  kind  of  the- 
atre he  shall  be  called  to  act,  is  to  understand  thoroughly  the  dis- 
cursive art,  and  to  be  well  acquainted  with  the  words,  structure, 
and  idiom  of  the  language  which  he  is  to  employ.  By  skill  in  the 
former,  I  do  not  mean  being  well  versed  in  the  artificial  dialectic 
of  the  schools,  though^this,  I  acknowledge,  doth  not  want  its  use,  but 
being  conversant  in  the  natural  and  genuine  principles  and  grounds 
of  reasoning,  whether  derived  from  sense  or  memory,  from  com- 
parison of  related  ideas,   from  testimony,  experience,  or  analogy. 

*  See  the  Philosophy  of  Rhetoric,  vol.  i.  book  I,  ch.  iv.  Of  the  Relation  which 
Eloquence  bears  to  Logic  and  to  Grammar. 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  99 

School  logic,  as  was  well  observed  by  Mr.  Locke,  is  much  better 
calculated  for  the  detection  of  sophistry  than  the  discovery  of  truth. 
Its  forms  of  argumentation  in  mood  and  figure  carry  too  much  ar- 
tifice, not  to  say  mechanism,  in  the  very  front  of  them,  to  suit  the 
free  and  disengaged  manner  of  the  orator,  in  whom  every  thing 
ought  to  appear  perfectly  natural  and  easy,  and  nothing  that  looks 
like  contrivance  or  insidious  design.  But  though  the  logician's 
manner  is  not  to  be  copied  by  the  public  speaker,  his  art  will  be  of 
use,  sometimes  in  furnishing  topics  of  argument,  often  in  suggest- 
ing hints  to  assist  in  refutation.  But  true  logic,  it  must  be  ac- 
knowledged, is  best  studied  not  in  a  scholastic  system,  but  in  the 
writings  of  the  most  judicious  and  best  reasoners  on  the  various 
subjects  supplied  by  history,  science  and  philosophy.  And  with  re- 
gard to  language,  as  it  is  the  English  alone  with  which  the  preach- 
ers in  this  country,  a  very  few  excepted,  are  concerned  as  public 
speakers,  they  ought  not  only  to  study  its  structure  and  analogy  in 
our  best  grammarians,  but  endeavour  to  familiarize  themselves  to 
its  idiom,  and  to  acquire  a  sufficient  stock  of  words  and  a  certain 
facility  in  using  them,  by  an  acquaintance  with  our  best  English 
authors.  We  have  the  greater  need  of  this,  as  in  this  part  of  the 
island  we  labour  under  some  special  disadvantages,  which,  that  our 
compositions  may  be  more  extensively  useful,  it  is  our  duty  to  en- 
deavour to  surmount. 

As  to  the  rhetorical  art  itself,  in  this  particular  the  moderns  ap- 
pear to  me  to  have  made  hardly  any  advance  or  improvement  upon 
the  ancients.  I  can  say,  at  least,  of  most  of  the  performances  in  the 
way  of  institute,  which  I  have  had  an  opportunity  of  reading  on 
this  subject,  either  in  French  or  English,  every  thing  valuable  is 
servilely  copied  from  Aristotle,  Cicero,  and  Q,uintilian,  in  whose 
writings,  especially  duintilian's  Institutions,  and  Cicero's  books 
de  inventione,  those  called  ad  Uerenium,  and  his  dialogues  De  ora- 
torcy  every  public  speaker  ought  to  be  conversant.  To  these  it 
will  not  be  amiss  to  add  Longinus  on  the  sublime,  Dionysius  of  Hal- 
icarnassus,  and  some  others.  And  as,  in  every  art,  the  examples 
of  eminent  performers  will  be  found  to  the  full  as  instructive  to  the 
student,  as  the  precepts  laid  down  by  the  teacher,  antiquity  does 
here  at  least  furnish  us  with  the  best  models  in  the  orations  of  Cic- 
ero in  Latin,  and  in  those  of  iEschines  and  Demosthenes  in  Greek. 
Of  modern  authors  considered  in  both  views,  as  teachers  of  the  art, 
and  as  performers,  I  would  recommend  what  Rollin  and  Fenelon 
have  written  on  the  subject,  the  sermons,  and  also  the  lectures  on 


100  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

eloqaence*  lately  published  by  the  ingenious  and  truly  eloquent  Dr. 
Blair ;  to  which  give  me  leave  to  add  the  sermons  of  my  amiable 
and  much  lamented  friend  Mr.  Farquhar,  which,  though  no  other 
than  fragments,  having  been  left  unfinished  by  the  author,  who  ap- 
pears to  have  had  no  view  to  publication,  and  though  consequent- 
ly less  correct  in  point  of  language,  are,  on  account  of  the  justness  of 
of  the  sentiments,  and  the  affecting  warmth  with  which  they  are 
written,  highly  admired  by  persons  of  taste  and  discernment.t 


LECTURE  II. 

Of  the   Sentiment  in   Pulpit   Discourses. 

I  AM'now  to  consider  the  train  of  sentiment,  the  elocution,  and  the 
pronunciation,  that  are  best  adapted  to  the  pulpit.  Of  these  things 
I  only  mean  at  first  to  take  a  more  general  and  cursory  suivey,  and 
make  such  remarks  on  each,  as  will  hold  almost  universally  of  all 
the  instructions  given  from  the  pulpit,  whatever  the  particular  sub- 
ject be.  As  to  those  which  may  suit  the  different  sorts  of  sermons 
and  other  discourses  to  be  employed  by  the  preacher,  I  shall  have 
occasion  afterwards  to  take  notice  of  them,  when  1  come  to  inquire 
into  the  rules  of  composition,  worthy  the  attention  of  the  Christian 
orator,  and  to  mark  out  the  different  kinds,  whereof  this  branch  of 
eloquence  is  susceptible. 

I  begin  at  this  time  with  what  regards  the  sentiments.  Let  it  be 
observed,  that  I  here  use  the  term  sentiments  in  the  greatest  lati- 
tude for  the  sense  or  thoughts.  I  mean  thereby  what  may  be  con> 
sidered  as  the  soul  of  the  discourse,  or  all  the  instruction  of  what- 
ever kind,  that  is  intended  to  be  conveyed  by  means  of  the  expres- 
sion into  the  minds  of  the  hearers.     Perhaps  the  import  of  the  word 

*  Dr.  Campbell's  Lectures  on  Pulpit  Eloquence,  were  composed  and  deliv- 
ered before  the  publication  of  Dr.  Blair's  Lectures  on  Rhetoric.  The  rec- 
ommendation as  above  was  added  to  the  original  manuscript  after  perusing 
the  lectures  of  his  friend  Dr.  Blair. 

t  Here  the  author  introduced  for  his  second  lecture  the  tenth  chapter  of 
the  first  book  of  his  Philosophy  of  Rhetoric,  entitled  "  The  different  kinds  of 
public  speaking  in  use  among  the  moderns,  compared,  with  a  view  to  their 
different  advantages  in  respect  of  eloquence."  In  that  chapter  there  are  seve- 
ral things  highly  worthy  of  the  attention  of  the  preacher. 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES  101 

will  be  more  exactly  ascertained  by  saying,  it  is  that  in  any  orig- 
inal performance,  which  it  behooves  a  translator  to  retain  in  his  ver- 
sion into  another  language,  whilst  the  expression  is  totally  changed. 
Thus  (to  preserve  the  metaphor  of  soul  and  body  already  adopted) 
we  may  say,  that  a  discourse  in  being  translated  undergoes  a  sort 
of  transmigration.  The  same  soul  passes  into  a  different  body. 
For  if  the  ideas,  the  sense,  the  information,  conveyed  to  the  hearers 
or  readers  be  not  the  same  in  the  version,  as  in  the  original  per- 
formance, the  translation  is  not  faithful.  Now  all  that  regards  the 
soul  or  sense  may  be  distributed  into  these  four  different  forms  of 
communication,  namely,  narration,  explanation,  reasoning^  and  mor- 
al reflection.  This  last  is  sometimes,  by  way  of  eminence,  called 
sentiment. 

To  the  first  of  these,  narration,  there  will  be  pretty  frequent  oc- 
casion of  recourse,  both  for  the  illustration  of  any  point  of  doctrine 
or  portion  of  scripture  wherewith  the  subject  happens  to  be  con- 
nected, and  also  for  affecting  the  hearers  in  a  way  suitable  to  the 
particular  aim  of  the  discourse.  And  indeed  it  often  happens^  that 
nothing  is  better  adapted  to  this  end,  than  an  apposite  passage  of 
history  properly  related.  But  what  are  the  rules,  it  will  be  asked,  by 
the  due  observance  of  which  propriety  in  this  matter  may  be  attain- 
ed ?  One  of  those  most  commonly  recommended  is,  to  be  brief. 
But  this  rule  needs  explanation,  as  there  is  nothing  we  ought  more 
carefully  to  avoid  than  a  cold  uninteresting  conciseness,  which  is 
sometimes  the  consequence  of  an  excessive  desire  of  brevity.  Brev- 
ity in  relating,  as  in  every  thing  else,  is  only  so  far  commendable, 
as  it  is  rendered  compatible  with  answering  all  the  ends  of  the  re- 
lation. Where  these  are  not  answered,  through  an  affectation  of  be- 
ing very  nervous  and  laconic,  comprehending  much  in  little,  the 
narration  ought  not  to  be  styled  brief,  but  defective.  In  strictness, 
the  relation  ought  to  contain  enough,  and  neither  more  nor  less. 
But  what  is  enough  ?  That  can  be  determined  only  by  a  proper  at- 
tention to  the  end  for  which  the  narration  was  introduced.  A  nar- 
rative may  contain  enough  to  render  the  story  and  its  connection 
intelligible  to  the  hearer,  yet  not  enough  to  fix  his  attention  and  en- 
gage his  heart,  and  may  therefore  be  justly  chargeable  with  a  faul- 
ty conciseness.  But  if  this  extreme  ought  to  be  carefully  guarded 
against,  it  well  deserves  your  notice,  that  the  contrary,  and  no  less 
dangerous,  extreme  of  prolixity,  by  entering  into  a  detail  too  minute 
and  circumstantial,  ought  with  equal  care  to  be  avoided.  If,  in  con- 
13 


102  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

sequence  of  the  first  error,  the  hearer's  mind  remains  unsatisfied,  in 
consequence  of  the  second,  it  is  cloyed.     Both  faults  can  be  avoid- 
ed only  by  such  a  judicious  selection  of  circumstances,  as  at  once 
excludes  nothing  essential  to  the  purposes  of  perspicuity  and  con- 
nection, or  conducive  to  the  principal  scope  of  the  narration,  and 
includes  nothing,  that  in  the  respects  aforesaid  can  be  deemed  su- 
perfluous.    Such  is  every  circumstance   that  can  be  denominated 
remote,  trivial,  or  necessarily  implied  in   the  other  circumstances 
mentioned.     But  to  assist  the  preacher  in  conducting  such  narra- 
tives, when  pertinent,  nothing  will  serve  so  well  for  a  model,  as  the 
historical  part  of  sacred  writ.     No  where  else  will  he  find  such 
simplicity,  as  brings  what  is  said  to  the  level  of  the  meanest  capac- 
ity, united   with  such  dignity,  as  is  suflicient  to  engage  the  atten- 
tion of  the  highest.     Passages  of  scripture  history,  when  they  hap- 
pen to  coincide   with  the  speaker's  view,   are  much  preferable  to 
those  which  may  be  taken  from  any  other  source ;  and  that  on  a 
double  account.     First,  it  may  be  supposed,  that  not  only  all  the 
serious  part,  but  even  the  much  greater  part  of  the  audience,  being 
better  acquainted  with  these,  will   both  more  readily  perceive  and 
more  strongly  feel  the  application   which  the  preacher  makes  of 
them  5  and  secondly,  the  authority  of  holy  writ  gives  an  additional 
weight  to  that  which  is  the  intent  of  the  narrative.     I  do  not  say, 
however,  that  a  preacher,   in  quoting  instances,  examples  and  au- 
thorities, ought  to  confine   himself  entirely  to  the  sacred  history. 
Our  blessed  Lord,  though   addressing  himself  only  to   Jews,  did 
not  hesitate  to  lay  the   foundation  of  some  of  his  parables  in  those 
customs  which  had  arisen  solely  from   their   intercourse  with  the 
Romans.     Of  this  the  parable  you  have,  Luke  xix.  12,  &ZyC.  of  the 
nobleman  who  travelled  into  a  distant  land,  in  order  that  he  might 
obtain  the  royal  power,  and  return  king  over   his  countrymen,  is 
an  evident  instance.     Such  was  become  the  general  practice  in  all 
the  provinces  and  states  dependent  upon  Rome.     The  royalty  was 
often  not  to  be  attained  without  applications  to  the  Roman  senate 
and  these  were  often  thwarted,  as  in  the  parable,  by  counter  appli- 
cations,  either    from  the  people,  or  from  some  rival  for  power. 
Nay,  there  is  very  probably  in  that  parable  an  allusion  to  some  things 
which  had  actually  happened  in  regard  to  the  succession  of  Arche- 
laus,  son  of  Herod,  king  of  Judea,  with  which  many  of  his  hearers 
conld  not  fail  to  be  acquainted,  the  thing  having  happened  but  re- 
cently and   in  their  own  time.     Nor  was  the  apostle  Paul  at  all 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTUHLS  103 

scrupulous  in  illustrating  the  sublimest  truths  of  the  gospel,  by  the 
exercises  and  diversions  which  obtained  at  that  time  among  the 
idolatrous  Greeks.  But  even  in  those  cases  wherein  scripture  doth 
not  furnish  the  facts,  it  supplies  us  with  an  excellent  pattern  of  a 
natural,  simple  and  interesting  manner  in  which  the  relation  ought  to 
be  conducted.  I  shall  only  add  on  this  article  that  the  different 
circumstances  ought  to  be  so  fitly  and  so  naturally  connected,  that 
those  which  precede  may  easily  introduce  those  which  follow,  and 
those  which  follow  may  appear  necessarily  to  arise  out  of  those 
which  precede.  This,  by  adding  to  the  credibility  and  verisim- 
ilitude, greatly  increases  the  effect  of  the  whole.  I  shall  not  at  this 
time  say  any  thing  of  those  qualities  which  more  regard  the  expres- 
sion than  the  thought,  as  there  will  be  scope  for  this  afterwards. 

The  second  thing  comprised  under  the  term  thought,  or  senti- 
ment, was  explication^  in  which  I  include  also  description  and  defi- 
nition. And  on  this,  the  rules  laid  down  upon  the  former  article 
will  equally  hold  good.  The  same  care  and  attention  will  be  requi- 
site, both  in  culling  and  disposing  the  particulars,  that  the  whole 
may  be  neither  tedious  nor  unsatisfactory.  In  regard  to  disposition 
and  arrangement,  there  is  rather  more  art  necessary  in  this  case 
than  in  the  former.  In  the  former,  to  wit,  narrative,  all  the  mate- 
rial circumstances  are  successive,  and  the  order  of  introducing  them 
must  in  a  great  measure  be  determined  by  the  order  of  time.  But 
in  explication,  they  are  simultaneous,  and  therefore  require  the  ex- 
ercise of  judgment  and  reflection,  in  assigning  to  each  its  proper 
place  and  order  in  the  discourse.  Need  it  be  added,  that  in  all 
descriptive  enumerations  particular  care  ought  to  be  taken,  that 
nothing  foreign  be  comprehended,  and  that  nothing  which  proper- 
ly belongs  to  the  subject  be  omitted.  The  logical  rules  in  regard 
to  definition  are  sufficiently  known,  and  therefore  shall  not  here  be 
repeated.  On  the  whole,  in  regard  to  both  the  preceding  articles, 
a  certain  justness  of  apprehension  is  of  all  things  the  most  impor- 
tant in  a  speaker.  If  he  has  not  a  clear  conception  of  the  matter 
himself,  it  can  never  be  expected  he  should  convey  it  to  others. 

The  third  thing  mentioned  as  belonging  to  the  thought,  was  rea- 
soning. When  it  is  considered,  what  a  mixed  society  a  Christian  as- 
sembly for  the  most  part  is,  and  how  little  the  far  greater  number, 
even  of  what  are  called  the  politest  congregations,  is  accustom- 
ed to  the  exercise  of  the  discursive  faculty,  it  will  be  evident  that 
any  thing  in  the  way  of  argument  would  need  to  be  extremely 
simple,  consisting  of  but  a  very  few  steps,  and   extremely  clear, 


104  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

having  nothing  in  that  is  of  an  abstract  nature,  and  so  not  easily 
comprehended  by  them,  and  nothing  that  alludes  to  facts  which  do 
not  fall  within  ordinary  observation.  If  the  argument  is  not  de- 
duced from  experience,  or  the  common  principles  of  the  un- 
derstanding, but  from  the  import  of  the  words  of  scripture,  one 
would  need  to  be  particularly  distinct  in  setting  the  sacred  text  be- 
fore them,  avoiding  as  much  as  possible,  every  thing  that  savours  of 
subtlety,  conceit,  or  learned  criticism.  Something  indeed  of  criti- 
cism, when  the  point  to  be  proved,  is  a  point  merely  of  revelation, 
cannot  always  be  avoided.  In  general,  however,  we  are  warranted 
to  say,  it  ought  to  be  avoided  as  much  as  possible.  The  passages 
of  holy  writ,  therefore,  which  you  make  choice  of,  in  support  of 
your  doctrine,  ought  to  be  always  the  plainest  and  the  most  direct. 
Though  you  should  perhaps  find  other  passages,  in  which  to  a  man 
of  letters,  there  might  appear  equal  or  even  stronger  evidence,  yet  if 
such  passages  would  require  a  commentary  or  elaborate  disquisition 
to  elucidate  them,  they  are  not  so  convincing  to  the  people,  and 
should,  therefore,  be  let  alone. 

It  may  not  be  improper  here,  however,  before  we  dismiss  this 
article,  to  examine  a  little  what  the  occasions  are  which  require 
reasoning  from  the  pulpit,  and  what  are  the  different  topics  of  ar- 
gument adapted  to  the  different  natures  of  the  subject.  These  last 
are  very  properly  divided  into  practical  and  speculative.  In  the 
former,  the  preacher  argues  to  enforce  the  practice  of  a  duty  recom- 
mended by  him;  in  the  latter,  to  gain  the  belief  of  his  hearers  to  a 
tenet  he  thinks  fit  to  defend.  In  the  former  case,  it  is  his  aim  to 
evince  the  beauty,  the  propriety,  the  equity,  the  pleasantness,  or  the 
utility  of  such  a  conduct  both  for  time  and  for  eternity.  His 
topics  therefore  are  all  drawn  from  common  life  and  experience, 
from  the  common  sense  of  mankind  and  the  most  explicit  declar- 
ations of  holy  writ,  topics  in  a  great  measure  the  same  with  those 
on  which  men  of  all  conditions  are  wont  to  argue  with  one  another, 
in  regard  to  what  is  right  and  prudent  in  the  management  of  their 
ordinary  secular  affairs.  Such  were  the  topics,  to  which  our  Lord 
himself  had  recourse  in  his  parables,  always  illustrating  the  reasons 
and  motives  which  ought  to  influence  in  the  things  of  eternity, 
by  the  reasons  and  motives  which  do  commonly  influence  us  in 
the  things  of  time.  Such  topics  are  consequently,  if  properly  con- 
ducted, level  to  the  capacities  of  all.  Whereas  in  the  latter  case, 
when  the  subject  is  of  doctrinal  points,  or  points  of  speculation,  the  re- 
sources of  the  preacher  are  extremely  different.  His  reasoning  must 
then  be  drawn  from  the  essential  natures  and  differences  of  things. 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  105 

and  the  comparison  of  abstract  qualities,  or  perhaps  from  abstruse  and 
critical  disquisitiohs  of  the  import  of  some  dark  and  controverted 
passages  of  scripture,  which  it  must  be  owned,  are  beyond  the  sphere 
of  the  illiterate.  I  would  not  by  this  be  understood  to  mean,  that 
controversy  should  never  be  admitted  into  the  pulpit.  We  are  exhort- 
ed by  the  apostle  Jude  "  earnestly  to  contend  for  the  faith,  which  was 
once  delivered  to  the  saints."  And  Paul  in  his  epistles  hath  given 
us  an  excellent  example  of  this  laudable  zeal  in  support  of  the  fun- 
damental doctrines  of  our  religion,  against  those  who  denied  or 
doubted  them.  This  he  shews,  as  on  several  other  occasions,  so  in 
particular  in  the  defence  of  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection,  and  in 
opposition  to  that  false  dogma  of  the  Judaizing  teachers  of  his  time, 
that  ttie  observance  of  circumcision  and  of  the  other  ceremonies  of 
the  law  is  necessary  to  salvation.  And  indeed  from  the  reason  of 
the  thing  it  is  manifest,  that  in  a  religious  institution  founded  on 
certain  important  truths  or  principles,  through  the  belief  of  which 
only  it  can  operate  on  the  hearts  and  influence  the  lives  of  men,  it 
must  be  of  the  utmost  consequence  to  refute  the  contrary  errors, 
when  they  appear  to  be  creeping  in  or  gaining  ground  among  the 
people.  But  before  the  preacher  attempt  a  refutation  of  this  kind, 
there  are  two  things  he  ought  impartially  and  carefully  to  inquire 
into.  First,  he  ought  to  inquire,  whether  the  tenet  he  means  to 
support  be  one  of  the  great  truths  of  religion  or  not.  It  may  be  a 
prevalent  opinion,  it  may  have  a  reference  to  the  common  salvation, 
nay  more,  it  may  be  a  true  opinion,  and  yet  no  article  of  the  faith 
which  was  once  delivered  to  the  saints.  These  articles  are  neither 
numerous  nor  abstruse.  We  cannot  say  so  much  in  regard  to  the 
comments  and  glosses  of  men.  Yet  it  is  an  undoubted  fact,  that 
where  the  former  have  excited  one  controversy  in  the  church,  the 
latter  have  produced  fifty.  It  must  therefore  be  of  importance  to 
him,  to  be  well  assured  that  he  is  vindicating  the  great  oracles  of 
unerring  wisdom,  and  not  the  precarious  interpretations  and 
glosses  of  fallible  men  ;  that  he  acts  the  part  of  the  genuine  disciple 
of  Christ,  and  not  the  blind  follower  of  a  merely  human  guide.  In 
the  former  case  only,  he  defends  the  cause  of  Christianity  ;  in  the 
latter,  he  but  supports  the  interest  of  a  sect  or  faction.  In  that,  he 
contends  for  the  faith ;  in  this,  "  he  dotes  about  questions  and 
strifes  of  words,  vain  janglings,  perverse  disputings  of  men  of  cor- 
rupt minds,  and  involving  himself  in  oppositions  of  science  falsely 
so  called."  And  that  under  this  last  class,  the  far  greater  part  of 
our  theological  disputes  are  comprehended,  even  such  as  have  been 


106      .        CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

too  often  and  too  hotly  agitated  in  the  pulpit,  is  not  to  be  denied. 
Such  in  particular  are  a  great  many  of  the  doctrinal  controversies, 
which  different  parties  of  protestants  have  with  one  another. 
They  may  with  great  propriety  be  styled  Myoft,et^(xh  (strifes  of 
words,  1  Tim.  vi.  4.)  an  emphatic  term  of  the  apostle  Paul;  for 
they  are  not  only  wars  with  words,  but  wars  merely  about  words  and 
phrases,  where  there  is  no  discernible,  or  at  least,  no  material  differ- 
ence in  the  sense  ;  and  which  agreeably  to  the  character  he  gives  of 
them,  "  gender  strifes,  and  minister  idle  disputes  rather  than  godly 
edifying."  The  second  thing  which  the  preacher  ought  to  inquire 
into,  before  he  engage  in  preaching  controversy,  is  whether  the  false 
doctrine  he  means  to  refute  has  any  number  of  partizans  amongst 
his  hearers ;  or  whether  there  be  any  immediate  danger  of  their  be- 
ing seduced  to  that  opinion.  If  otherwise,  the  introduction  of  such 
questions  might  possibly  raise  doubts  where  formerly  there  were 
none,  and  at  any  rate,  unless  managed  with  uncommon  prudence 
and  temper,  have  rather  a  tendency  that  is  unfavourable  to  the  Chris- 
tian spirit,  and  in  narrow  minds  is  apt  to  beget  a  sort  of  bitterness 
and  uncharitableness,  which  these  dignify  in  themselves  with  the 
name  of  zeal,  though  in  their  adversaries  they  can  clearly  see  its 
malignity.  At  the  same  time,  that  1  give  these  caveats  against  the 
abuse,  I  by  no  means  deny  the  occasional  expediency  and  use  of 
controversy. 

As  to  the  fourth  and  last  species  of  thought  mentioned,  moral  re- 
flection, or  what  is  sometimes  peculiarly  denominated  sentiment ; 
there  is  much  less  hazard  that  in  this  we  should  succeed.  Here  the 
preacher  (if  he  is  at  all  judicious  in  his  choice)  runs  less  risk  of  ei- 
ther growing  tiresome  to  the  more  improved  part  of  his  audience, 
or  unintelligible  to  those  whose  understandings  have  not  been  cul- 
tivated. In  the  former,  the  rational  powers  are  addressed ;  in 
this,  the  heart  and  the  conscience.  Indeed,  I  am  far  from  think- 
ing, that  these  two  kinds  of  addresses  may  not  often  be  happily 
blended  together ;  particularly,  when  the  subject  relates  to  moral 
conduct,  an  address  of  the  latter  kind,  if  interwoven  with  a  plain 
narrative,  will  frequently  prove  the  most  effectual  means  of  remov- 
ing unfavourable  prepossessions,  engaging  affection  as  well  as 
satisfying  reason,  and  bringing  her  to  be  of  the  same  party.  It 
was  a  method  often  and  successfully  employed  by  our  blessed  Lord, 
when  attacked  by  a  Jewish  bigotry,  on  the  extent  that  ought  to  be  giv- 
en to  the  love  of  our  neighbour.  The  maxims  of  the  Pharisees, 
like  those  of  all  bigots,  of  every  age,  nation  and  profession,   were 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  107 

very  illiberal,  and  measuring  the  goodness  of  the  universal  Father, 
by  fheir  own  contracted  span,  could  not  bear  to  think  that  those  of 
a  different  nation,  and  still  more  those  who  differed  in  religious  mat- 
ters, could  be  comprehended  under  it.  When  attacked  by  these 
narrow  hearted  zealots,  in  what  manner,  I  pray  you,  doth  he  silence 
contradiction,  and  gain  every  susceptible  heart  over  to  his  side  ? 
Not  by  subtle  ratiocination  on  the  beauty  of  virtue,  or  on  the  eter- 
nal and  unalterable  fitness  of  things  ;  but  by  a  simple  story,  by  the 
parable  of  the  compassionate  Samaritan,  in  the  conclusion  of  which 
he  shows,  that,  even  their  own  consciences  being  judges,  to  act 
agreeably  to  the  more  extensive  explanation  of  the  duty,  was  the 
more  amiable  part,  and  consequently  more  worthy  of  their  esteem 
and  imitation.  Again,  when  he  would  show,  that  even  the  profli- 
gate are  not  to  be  abandoned  to  despair,  with  what  an  amazing  su- 
periority doth  he  subdue  the  most  unrelenting  pharisaic  pride  by 
the  parable  of  the  prodigal  ?  Who  ever  could  so  quickly  dissipate 
the  thickest  clouds  raised  by  inveterate  prejudices  and  party-spirit, 
and  render  the  only  unequivocal  standard  of  moral  truth,  the  char- 
acters of  the  divine  law  engraven  on  the  human  heart,  to  all  who 
are  not  wilfully  blind,  distinctly  legible  ?  Could  any  the  most  acute 
and  elaborate  dissertation  on  moral  rectitude,  or  the  essential  quali- 
ties and  relations  of  things,  have  produced  half  the  effect,  even  in 
point  of  conviction,  as  well  as  of  feeling  ?  How  different  his  meth- 
od from  that  of  the  ancient  sophists  ?  But  not  more  different  than 
their  aims.  Their  aim  was  to  make  men  talk  fluently  and  plausibly 
on  every  subject :  his,  to  make  them  think  justly,  and  act  up- 
rightly. 

So  much  shall  suffice  for  what  regards  the  sentiments  or  thoughts 
in  general,  that  are  adapted  to  the  eloquence  of  the  pulpit,  whether 
narration,  explanation,  reasoning,  or  moral  reflection.  On  this 
head,  we  were  under  a  necessity  of  being  briefer  and  more  general, 
as  it  is  here  that  a  man's  natural  talents,  genius,  taste,  and  judg- 
ment, have  the  greatest  sway  ;  and  where  nature  has  denied  these 
talents,  it  is  in  vain  to  imagine  that  the  defect  can  ever  be  supplied 
by  art.  Whereas  the  principal  scope  for  the  exertions  of  art  and 
education  is  in  what  regards  language,  composition  and  arrange- 
ment. It  is  principally  in  what  regards  the  thought,  that  we  may 
say  universally,  whatever  be  the  species  of  eloquence  a  man  aims 
to  attain,  every  thing  that  serves  to  improve  his  knowledge,  discern- 
ment and  good  sense,  serves  also  to  improve  him  as  an  orator. 
"  Scribendi  recte  sapere  est  et  principium  et  fons." 


108  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

LECTURE   III. 

Of  the  Expression. 

In  my  last  lecture,  I  treated  in  general  of  the  thought  or  senti- 
ment of  the  discourse,  and  laid  before  you  some  reflections  on  the 
different  sorts  into  which  it  is  distinguishable,  narration,  explanation, 
argumentation  and  moral  reflection,  and  the  methods  whereby  each 
ought  to  be  conducted  by  the  Christian  orator.  I  proceed  now  to 
consider  what  may  properly  be  called  the  expression  of  the  senti- 
ments by  language.  By  this  word  I  here  mean,  all  that  regards  the 
enunciation  of  the  thoughts  by  language.  It  is  by  this,  as  I  had 
occasion  in  a  former  discourse  to  remark  to  you,  that  eloquence 
holds  of  grammar,  as  it  is  by  the  other,  that  she  holds  of  logic. 

A  few  words  therefore  on  what  I  may  call  the  grammatical  expres- 
sion, before  I  enter  on  the  consideration  of  the  rhetorical.  The 
work  of  the  grammarian  serves  as  a  foundation  to  that  of  the  rhe- 
torician. The  highest  aim  of  the  former  is  the  lowest  aim  of  the 
latter.  The  one  seeks  only  purity,  the  other  superadds  elegance  and 
energy.  Grammatical  purity  in  any  language  (suppose  English, 
that  in  which  every  preacher  in  this  country  is  chiefly  interested) 
requires  a  careful  observance  of  these  three  things  ;  first,  that  the 
words  employed  be  English  words  ;  secondly,  that  they  be  constru- 
ed in  the  English  idiom  ;  thirdly,  that  they  be  made  to  present  to 
the  reader  or  hearer  the  precise  meaning,  which  good  use  hath  af- 
fixed to  them.  A  trespass  against  the  first,  when  the  word  is  not 
English,  is  called  a  barbarism  ;  a  trespass  against  the  second,  when 
the  fault  lies  in  the  construction,  is  termed  a  solecism  ;  a  trespass 
against  the  third,  when  the  word,  though  English,  is  not  used  in 
its  true  meaning,  is  denominated  an  impropriety.  As  the  founda- 
tion is  necessary  to  the  superstructure,  so  an  attention  to  grammat- 
ical purity  is  previously  necessary  to  one  who  would  attain  the  ele- 
gant, affecting,  and  energetic  expression  of  the  orator.  Permit  me, 
therefore,  to  take  this  opportunity  of  recommending  to  you,  to  be- 
stow some  time  and  attention  on  the  perusal  of  our  best  English 
grammars,  and  to  familiarize  yourselves  to  the  idiom  of  our  best 
and  purest  writers.  It  is,  I  think,  a  matter  of  some  consequence, 
and  therefore  ought  not  to  be  altogether  neglected  by  the  student. 

I  know  it  will  be  said,  that  when  all  a  man's  labour  is  employed  in 
instructing  the  people  of  a  country  parish,  to  which  there  is  little 


CAMPBELL  S  LECTURES.  109 

or  no  resort  of  strangers,  propriety  of  expression  is  not  a  matter  of 
mighty  moment,  provided  he  speak  in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  in- 
telligible to  his  parishioners.  I  admit  the  truth  of  what  is  advanc- 
ed in  this  objection,  but  by  no  means  the  consequence  which  the 
objectors  seem  disposed  to  draw  from  it.  I  must  therefore  entreat 
that  a  few  things  may  be  considered  on  the  other  hand.  And  first, 
you  cannot  know  for  certain,  where  it  may  please  Providence 
that  your  lot  should  be.  If  you  acquire  the  knowledge  of  the  lan- 
guage in  the  proper  acceptation  of  the  word,  you  acquire  a  dialect 
which  will  make  you  understood  wherever  the  language  is  spoken  ; 
for  as  the  English  translation  of  the  Bible,  and  as  all  our  best  writ- 
ings, are  in  what  I  may  call  the  general  and  pure  idiom  of  the 
tongue,  that  idiom  is  perfectly  well  understood  even  by  those,  who 
do  not  speak  with  propriety  themselves.  Whereas  if  you  neglect 
grammatical  accuracy,  it  is  a  hundred  to  one,  that  many  of  your  words 
and  phrases  will  be  misunderstood  in  the  very  neighbouring  dis- 
trict or  county.  And  even  though  they  should  be  intelligible 
enough,  they  have  a  coarseness  and  vulgarity  in  them,  that  cannot 
fail  to  make  them  appear  to  men  of  knowledge  and  taste  ridiculous  : 
and  this  doth  inexpressible  injury  to  the  thought  conveyed  under 
ihem,  how  just  and  important  soever  it  be.  You  will  say,  that  this 
is  all  the  effect  of  mere  prejudice  in  the  hearers,  consequently  un- 
reasonable and  not  to  be  regarded.  Be  it,  that  this  is  prejudice  in 
the  hearers,  and  therefore  unreasonable.  It  doth  not  follow,  that 
the  speaker  ought  to  pay  no  regard  to  it.  It  is  the  business  of  the 
orator  to  accommodate  himself  to  men,  such  as  he  sees  they  are, 
and  not  such  as  he  imagines  they  should  be.  A  certain  pliancy  of 
disposition  in  regard  to  innocent  prejudices  and  defects,  is  what  in 
our  intercourse  with  the  world,  good  sense  necessarily  requires  of 
us,  candour  requires  of  us,  our  religion  itself  requires  of  us.  It  is 
this  very  disposition,  which  our  great  apostle  recommends  by  his 
own  example,  where  he  tells  us  that  he  "  became  all  things  to  all 
men,  that  he  might  by  all  means  save  some."  But  upon  impartial 
examination,  the  thing  perhaps  will  be  found  not  so  unreasonable, 
as  at  first  sight  it  may  appear.  A  man  of  merit  and  breeding  you 
may  disguise  by  putting  him  in  the  apparel  of  a  clown,  but  you  can- 
not justly  find  fault,  that  in  that  garb  he  meets  not  with  the  same 
reception  in  good  company,  that  he  would  meet  with  if  more  suita- 
bly habited.  The  outward  appearance  is  the  first  thing  that  strikes 
us  in  a  person,  the  expression  is  the  first  thing  that  strikes  us  in  a 
14 


110  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

discourse.  Take  care  at  least,  that  in  neither,  there  be  any  thing  to 
make  an  unfavourable  impression,  which  may  preclude  all  further 
inquiry  and  regard.  It  was  extremely  well  said  by  a  very  popular 
preacher  in  our  own  days,  who  when  consulted  by  a  friend  that  had 
a  mind  to  publish,  whether  he  thought  it  befitting  a  writer  on  reli- 
gion to  attend  to  such  little  matters  as  grammatical  correctness,  an- 
swered, "  By  all  means.  It  is  much  better  to  write  so  as  to  make 
a  critic  turn  Christian,  than  so  as  to  make  a  Christian  turn  critic.'* 
The  answer  was  judicious  and  well  expressed.  That  the  thought 
may  enter  deeply  into  the  mind  of  the  reader  or  hearer,  there  is  need 
of  all  the  assistance  possible  from  the  expression.  Little  progress 
can  it  be  expected  then,  that  the  former  shall  make,  if  there  be 
any  thing  in  the  latter,  which  serves  to  divert  the  attention  from  it. 
And  this  effect  at  least  of  diverting  the  attention,  even  mere  gram- 
matic  blunders,  with  those  who  are  capable  of  discerning  them,  are 
but  too  apt  to  produce.  The  more  immediate  object  with  us  is  rhet- 
orical, not  grammatical  expression,  and  only  that  kind  of  the  former 
which  is  specially  adapted  to  the  Christian  oratory.  For  though 
there  be  not  perhaps  any  qualities  requisite  here,  which  may  not 
with  good  effect  be  employed  by  those  whose  province  it  is  to  har- 
angue from  the  bar  or  in  the  senate,  and  though  there  be  very  few 
of  the  qualities  of  elocution,  which  may  not  on  some  occasions,  with 
great  propriety,  be  employed  from  the  pulpit ;  yet  some  of  them, 
without  all  question,  are  more  essential  to  one  species  of  oratory 
than  to  another,  and  it  is  such  as  are  most  adapted  to  the  discourses 
with  which  we  are  here  concerned,  that  I  propose  now  particularly 
to  consider.  Before  all  things  then,  in  my  judgment,  the  preacher 
ought  to  make  it  his  study  that  the  style  of  his  discourses  be  both 
perspicuous  and  affecting.  I  shall  make  a  few  observations  to  illus- 
trate each  of  these  particulars,  and  then  conclude  this  lecture. 

First  I  say,  his  style  ought  to  he  perspicuous.  Though  it  is  indeed 
a  most  certain  fact,  that  perspicuity  is  of  the  utmost  consequence 
to  every  orator  (for  what  valuable  end  can  any  oration  answer, 
which  is  not  understood  ?)  this  quality  doubtless  ought  to  be  more 
a  study  to  the  Christian  orator  than  to  any  other  whatever.  The 
reason  is  obvious.  The  more  we  are  in  danger  of  violating  any 
rule  (especially  if  it  be  a  rule  of  the  last  importance,)  the  more  cir- 
cumspection we  ought  to  employ  in  order  to  avoid  that  danger.  Now 
that  the  preacher  must  be  in  much  greater  danger  in  this  respect 
than  any  other  public  speaker,  is  manifest  from  the  mixed  character 
at  best,  often  from   the  very  low   character  in  respect  of  acquired 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  Ill 

knowledge,  of  the  audience  to  whom  his  speech  is  addressed.  Per- 
spicuity is  in  a  great  measure  a  relative  quality.  A  speech  may 
be  perspicuous  to  one,  which  to  another  is  unintelligible.  It  is  pos- 
sible indeed  to  be  obscure  in  pleading  before  the  most  learned  and 
discerning  judges,  because  the  pleader's  style  maybe  remarkably 
perplexed  and  intricate;  but  without  any  peiplexity  or  intricacy  of 
style,  it  is  even  more  than  possible,  that  a  man  of  reading  and  ed- 
ucation shall  speak  obscurely  when  he  addresses  himself  in  a  set 
discourse  to  simple  and  illiterate  people.  There  is  a  cause  of  dark- 
ness in  this  case,  totally  independent  of  the  grammatical  structure 
of  the  sentences,  and  the  general  character  of  the  style.  It  is,  be- 
sides, of  all  causes  of  obscurity,  that  which  is  most  apt  to  escape 
the  notice  of  a  speaker.  Nothing  is  more  natural  than  for  a  man 
to  imagine,  that  what  is  intelligible  to  him  is  so  to  every  body,  or 
at  least  that  he  speaks  with  sufficient  clearness,  when  he  uses  the 
same  language  and  in  equal  plainness,  with  that  in  which  he  hath 
studied  the  subject,  and  been  accustomed  to  read.  But  however 
safe  this  rule  of  judging  may  be  in  the  barrister  and  the  senator, 
who  generally  address  their  discourses  to  men  of  similar  education 
with  themselves,  and  of  equal  or  nearly  equal  abilities  and  learning, 
it  is  by  no  means  a  proper  rule  for  the  preacher,  one  destined  to  be 
in  spiritual  matters  a  guide  to  the  blind,  a  light  to  them  who  are  in 
darkness,  an  instructer  of  the  foolish,  and  a  teacher  of  babes. 
Therefore,  besides  the  ordinary  rules  of  perspicuity  in  respect  of 
diction,  which  in  common  with  every  other  public  speaker  he  ought 
to  attend  to,  he  must  advert  to  this  in  particular,  that  the  terms  and 
phrases  he  employs  in  his  discourse  be  not  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
inferior  ranks  of  people.  Otherwise  his  preaching  is,  to  the  bulk  of 
his  audience,  but  beating  the  air  ;  whatever  the  discourse  may  be 
in  itself,  the  speaker  is  to  them  no  better  than  a  sounding  brass  or 
a  tinkling  cymbal.  It  is  reported  of  Archbishop  Tillotson,  that  he 
was  wont,  before  preaching  his  sermons,  to  read  them  privately  to 
an  illiterate  old  woman  of  plain  sense,  who  lived  in  the  house  with 
him,  and  wherever  he  found  he  had  employed  any  word  or  expres- 
sion, that  she  did  not  understand,  he  instantly  erased  it,  and  sub- 
stituted a  plainer  in  its  place,  till  he  brought  the  style  down  to  her 
level.  The  story  is  much  to  the  prelate's  honour ;  for  however  in- 
competent such  judges  might  be  of  the  composition,  the  doctrine, 
or  the  argument,  they  are  certainly  the  most  competent  judges  of 
what  terms  and  phrases  fall  within  the  apprehension  of  the  vulgar, 
the  class  to  which  they  belong.     But  though  such   an   expedient 


IW  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

would  not  answer  in  every  situation,  we  ought  at  least  to  supply  the 
want  of  it  by  making  it  more  an  object  of  attention  than  is  com- 
monly done,  to  discover  what  in  point  of  language  falls  within  and 
what  without  the  sphere  of  the  common  people. 

Before  I  dismiss  this  article  of  perspicuity,  I  shall  mention  briefly 
a  few  of  those  faults  by  which  it  is  most  commonly  transgressed. 

The  first  is  pedantry,  or  an  ostentation  of  learning,  by  frequent 
recourse  to  those  words  and  phrases  which  are  called  technical,  and 
which  are  in  use  only  among  the  learned.  This  may  justly  be  de- 
nominated the  worst  kind  of  obscurity,  because  it  is  always  an  in- 
tentional obscurity.  In  other  cases  a  man  may  speak  obscurely, 
without  knowing  it ;  he  may  on  some  subjects  speak  obscurely,  and 
though  he  suspects  it,  may  not  have  it  in  his  power  to  remedy  it;  but 
the  pedant  affects  obscurity.  He  is  dark  of  purpose,  that  you  may 
think  him  deep.  The  character  of  a  profound  scholar  is  his  primary 
object.  Commonly  indeed  he  overshoots  the  mark,  and  with  all  per- 
sons of  discernment  loses  this  character  by  his  excessive  solicitude 
to  acquire  it.  The  pedant  in  literature  is  perfectly  analogous  to  the 
hypocrite  in  religion.  As  appearance  and  not  reality  is  the  great 
study  of  each,  both  in  mere  exteriors  far  outdo  the  truly  learned  and 
the  pious,  with  whom  the  reputation  of  learning  and  piety  is  but  a 
secondary  object  at  the  most.  The  shallowness  however  of  such  pre- 
tenders rarely  escapes  the  discovery  of  the  judicious.  But  if  false- 
hood and  vanity  are  justly  accounted  mean  and  despicable,  wherev- 
er they  are  found ;  when  they  dare  to  show  themselves  in  the  pulpit, 
a  place  consecrated  to  truth  and  purity,  they  must  appear  to  every 
ingenuous  mind  perfectly  detestable.  It  must  be  owned,  however, 
that  the  pedantic  style  is  not  now  so  prevalent  in  preaching,  as 
it  hath  been  in  former  times,  and  therefore  needs  not  to  be  further 
enlarged  on.  There  is  indeed  a  sort  of  literary  diction,  which 
sometimes  the  inexperienced  are  ready  to  fall  into  insensibly,  from 
their  having  been  much  more  accustomed  to  the  school  and  to  the 
closet,  to  the  works  of  some  particular  schemer  in  philosophy,  than 
to  the  scenes  of  real  life  and  conversation.  This  fault,  though 
akin  to  the  former,  is  not  so  bad,  as  it  may  be  without  affectation, 
and  when  there  is  no  special  design  of  catching  applause.  It  is,  in- 
deed, most  commonly  the  consequence  of  an  immoderate  attach- 
ment to  some  one  or  other  of  the  various  systems  of  ethics  or  theol- 
ogy that  have  in  modern  times  been  published,  and  obtained  a 
vogue  among  their  respective  partizans.     Thus  the  zealous  disciple 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  113 

of  Shaftesbury,  Akenside  and  Hutcheson,  is  no  sooner  licensed  to 
preach  the  gospel,  than  with  the  best  intentions  in  the  world,  he 
harangues  the  people  from  the  pulpit  on  the  moral  sense  and  uni- 
versal benevolence— he  sets  them  to  inquire  whether  there  be  a  per- 
fect conformity  in  their  affections  to  the  supreme  symmetry  estab- 
lished in  the  universe — he  is  full  of  the  sublime  and  beautiful  in 
things,  the  moral  objects  of  right  and  wrong,  and  the  proportionable 
affection  of  a  rational  creature  towards  them.  He  speaks  much  of 
the  inward  music  of  the  mind,  the  harmony  and  the  dissonance  of 
the  passions,  and  seems,  by  his  way  of  talking,  to  imagine,  that  if 
a  man  have  this  same  moral  sense,  which  he  considers  as  the  men- 
tal ear,  in  due  perfection,  he  may  tune  his  soul  with  as  much  ease 
as  a  musician  tunes  a  musical  instrument.  The  disciple  of  Doctor 
Clarke,  on  the  contrary,  talks  to  us  in  somewhat  of  a  soberer  strain, 
and  less  pompous  phrase,  but  not  a  jot  more  edifying,  about  unal- 
terable reason  and  the  eternal  fitness  of  things — about  the  conform- 
ity of  our  actions  to  their  immutable  relations  and  essential  differ- 
ences. All  the  various  sects  or  parties  in  religion  have  been  often 
accused  of  using  a  peculiar  dialect  of  their  own,  when  speaking  on 
religious  subjects,  which  though  familiar  to  the  votaries  of  the  party, 
appears  extremely  uncouth  to  others.  The  charge,  I  am  sensible, 
is  not  without  foundation,  though  all  parties  are  not  in  this  respect 
equally  guilty.  We  see,  however,  that  the  different  systems  of 
philosophy,  especially  that  branch  which  comes  under  the  denomi- 
nation of  pneumatology,  are  equally  liable  to  this  imputation  with 
systems  of  theology.  I  would  not  be  understood,  from  any  thing  I 
have  said,  to  condemn  in  the  gross  either  the  books  or  systems  al- 
luded to.  They  have  their  excellencies  as  well  as  their  blemishes  ; 
and  as  to  many  of  the  points  in  which  they  seem  to  differ  from  one 
another,  I  am  satisfied  that  the  difference  is,  like  some  of  our  the- 
ological disputes,  more  verbal  than  real.  Let  us  read  even  on  op- 
posite sides,  but  still  so  as  to  preserve  the  freedom  of  our  judgment 
in  comparing,  weighing  and  deciding,  so  that  we  can  with  justice 
apply  to  ourselves,  in  regard  to  all  human  teachers,  the  declaration 
of  the  poet, 

Nullius  addictus  jurare  in  verba  magistri.* 

And  even  in  some  cases,  wherein  we  approve  the  thought  in  any  of 
those  authors,  it  may  not  be  proper  to  adopt  the  language.  The 
adage,  which  enjoins  us  to  think  with  the  learned,  but  speak  with 

*  Sworn  to  no  master. 


114  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

the  vulgar,  is  not  to  be  understood  as  enjoining  us  to  dissemble; 
but  not  to  make  a  useless  parade  of  learning,  particularly  to  avoid 
every  thing  in  point  of  language  which  would  put  the  sentiments 
we  mean  to  convey  beyond  the  reach  of  those  with  whom  we  con- 
verse. It  was  but  just  now  admitted,  that  the  different  sects  or  de- 
nominations of  Christians  had  their  several  and  peculiar  dialects. 
I  would  advise  the  young  divine,  in  forming  his  style  in-sacred  mat- 
ters, to  avoid  as  much  as  possible  the  peculiarities  of  each.  The 
language  of  holy  scripture  and  of  common  sense  affords  him  a  sufR- 
cient  standard.  And  with  regard  to  the  distinguishing  phrases, 
which  our  factions  in  religion  have  introduced,  though  these  some- 
times may  appear  to  superficial  people  and  half  thinkers  sufficiently 
perspicuous,  the  appearance  is  a  mere  illusion.  The  generality  of 
men,  little  accustomed  to  reflection,  are  so  constituted,  that  what 
their  ears  have  been  long  familiarized  to,  however  obscure  in  it- 
self, or  unmeaning  it  be,  seems  perfectly  plain  to  them.  They  are 
well  acquainted  with  the  terms,  expressions  and  customary  applica- 
tion, and  they  look  no  farther.  A  great  deal  of  the  learning  in  di- 
vinity of  such  of  our  common  people  as  think  themselves,  and  are 
sometimes  thought  by  others,  wonderful  scholars,  is  of  this  sort.  It 
is  generally  the  fruit  of  much  application,  strong  memory  and  weak 
judgment,  and  consisting  mostly  of  mere  words  and  phrases,  is  of 
that  kind  of  knowledge  which  puffeth  up,  gendereth  self-conceit, 
that  species  of  it  in  particular  known  by  the  name  of  spiritual  pride, 
captiousness,  censoriousness,  jealousy,  malignity,  but  by  no  means 
ministereth  to  the  edifying  of  the  hearers  in  love.  This  sort  of 
knowledge  I  denominate  learned  ignorance,  of  all  sorts  of  igno- 
rance the  most  difficult  to  be  surmounted,  agreeably  to  the  obser- 
vation of  Solomon,  **  Seest  thou  a  man  wise  in  his  own  conceit, 
there  is  more  hope  of  a  fool  than  of  him."  Would  you  avoid  then 
feeding  the  vanity  of  your  hearers,  supplying  them  with  words  in- 
stead of  sense,  amusing  them  with  curious  questions  and  verba! 
controversies,  instead  of  furnishing  them  with  useful  and  practical 
instruction,  detach  yourselves  from  the  artificial,  ostentatious  phra- 
seology of  every  scholastic,  or  system  builder  in  theology,  and  keep 
as  close  as  possible  to  the  pure  style  of  holy  writ,  which  the  apostle 
calls  "  the  sincere  or  unadulterated  milk  of  the  word."  The  things, 
which  the  Holy  Spirit  hath  taught  by  the  prophets  and  apostles, 
give  not  in  the  words  which  man's  wisdom  teacheth,  but  in  the 
words  which  the  Holy  Spirit  teacheth,  a  much  more  natural  and 
suitable  language.     But  be  particularly  attentive  that  the  scripture 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  115 

expressions  employed  be  both  plain  and  apposite.  The  word  of 
God  itself  may  be,  and  often  is  handled  unskilfully.  Would  the 
preacher  carefully  avoid  this  charge,  let  him  first  be  sure  that  he 
hath  himself  a  distinct  meaning  to  every  thing  he  advanceth,  and 
next  examine,  whether  the  expression  he  intends  to  use  be  a  clear 
and  adequate  enunciation  of  that  meaning.  For  if  it  is  true,  that  a 
speaker  is  sometimes  not  understood,  because  he  doth  not  express  his 
meaning  with  sufficient  clearness,  it  is  also  true  that  sometimes  he 
is  not  understood,  because  he  hath  no  meaning  to  express. 

The  last  advice  I  would  give  on  the  head  of  perspicuity  is,  in 
composing,  to  aim  at  a  certain  simplicity  in  the  structure  of  your 
sentences,  avoiding  long,  intricate  and  complex  periods.  Remem- 
ber always  that  the  bulk  of  the  people  are  unused  to  reading  and 
study.  They  lose  sight  of  the  connection  in  very  long  sentences, 
and  they  are  quite  bewildered,  when,  for  the  sake  of  rounding  a 
period,  and  suspending  the  sense  till  the  concluding  clause,  you 
transgress  the  customary  arrangement  of  the  words.  The  nearer 
therefore  your  diction  comes  to  the  language  of  conversation,  it  will 
be  the  more  familiar  to  them,  and  so  the  more  easily  apprehended. 
In  this  too  the  style  of  scripture  is  an  excellent  model.  So  much 
for  perspicuity. 

The  next  quality  I  mentioned  in  the  style,  was,  that  it  be  affect- 
ing. Though  this  has  more  particularly  a  place  in  those  discourses, 
which  admit  and  even  require  a  good  deal  of  the  pathetic,  yet,  in  a 
certain  degree,  it  ought  to  accompany  every  thing  that  comes  from 
the  pulpit.  All  from  that  quarter  is  conceived  to  be,  mediately  or 
immediately,  connected  with  the  most  important  interests  of  man- 
kind. This  gives  a  propriety  to  the  affecting  manner  in  a  certain 
degree,  whatever  be  the  particular  subject.  It  is  this  quality  in 
preaching,  to  which  the  French  critics  have  given  the  name  of 
onction,  and  which  they  explain  to  be,  an  affecting  sweetness  of  man- 
ner which  engages  the  heart.  It  is  indeed  that  warmth,  and  gentle 
emotion  in  the  address  and  language,  which  serves  to  show,  that  the 
speaker  is  much  in  earnest  in  what  he  says,  and  is  actuated  to  say  it 
from  the  tenderest  concern  for  the  welfare  of  his  hearers.  As  this 
character,  however,  can  be  considered  only  as  a  degree  of  that 
which  comes  under  the  general  denomination  of  pathetic,  we  shall 
have  occasion  to  consider  it  more  fully  afterwards.  It  is  enough 
here  to  observe,  that  as  the  general  strain  of  pulpit  expression  ought 
to  be  seasoned  with  this  quality,  this  doth  necessarily  imply,  that 
the  language  be  ever  grave  and  serious.     The  necessity  of  this  re- 


116  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

suits  from  the  consideration  of  the  very  momentous  effect  which 
preaching  was  intended  to  produce  ;  as  the  necessity  of  perspicuity, 
the  first  quality  mentioned,  results  from  the  consideration  of  the 
character  sustained  by  the  hearers.  That  the  effect  designed  by 
this  institution,  namely  the  reformation  of  mankind,  requires  a  cer- 
tain seriousness,  which  though  occasionally  requisite  in  other  public 
speakers,  ought  uniformly  to  be  preserved  by  the  preacher,  is  a 
truth  that  will  scarcely  be  doubted  by  any  person  who  reflects. 
This  may  be  said  in  some  respect  to  narrow  his  compass  in  persua- 
sion, as  it  will  not  permit  the  same  free  recourse  to  humour,  wit 
and  ridicule,  which  often  prove  powerful  auxiliaries  to  other  orators 
at  the  bar  and  in  the  senate,  agreeably  to  the  observation  of  the 
poet, 

Ridiculum  acri 
Fortius  et  melius  magnas  plerumque  secat  res.* 

At  the  same  time,  I  am  very  sensible  that  an  air  of  ridicule  in  disprov- 
ing or  dissuading,  by  rendering  opinions  or  practices  contemptible, 
hath  been  attempted  with  approbation  by  preachers  of  great  name.  I 
can  only  say  that  when  the  contemptuous  manner  is  employed 
(which  ought  to  be  very  seldom)  it  requires  to  be  managed  with 
the  greatest  delicacy.  For  time  and  place  and  occupation  seem 
all  incompatible  with  the  levity  of  ridicule  ;  they  render  jesting  im- 
pertinence, and  laughter  madness.  Therefore  any  thing  from  the 
pulpit,  which  might  provoke  this  emotion,  would  now  be  justly 
deemed  an  unpardonable  offence  against  both  piety  and  decorum. 
In  order,  however,  to  prevent  mistakes,  permit  me  here,  in  passing, 
to  make  a  remark  that  may  be  called  a  digression,  as  it  immediate- 
ly concerns  my  own  province  only.  The  remark  is,  that  in  these 
prelections,  I  do  not  consider  myself  as  limited  by  the  laws  of 
preaching.  There  is  a  difference  between  a  school,  even  a  theolo- 
gical school  and  a  church,  a  professor's  chair  and  a  pulpit ;  there  is 
a  difference  between  graduates  in  philosophy  and  the  arts,  and  a 
common  congregation.  And  though  in  some  things,  not  in  all, 
there  be  a  coincidence  in  the  subject,  yet  the  object  is  different. 
In  the  former,  it  is  purely  the  information  of  the  hearers,  in  the  lat- 
ter, it  is  ultimately  their  reformation.  I  shall  not  therefore  hesitate, 
iu  this  place,  to  borrow  aid  from  whatever  may  serve  innocently  to 
illustrate,  enliven   or   enforce   any  part  of  my  subject,  and  keep 

*  Ridicule  often  decides    important  matters  more  readily  than  acute  rea- 
soning. 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  117 

awake  the  attention  of  my  hearers,  which  is  but  too  apt  to  flag  at 
hearing  the  most  rational  discourse,  if  there  be  nothing  it,  which 
can  either  move  the  passions,  or  please  the  imagination.  The  na- 
ture of  my  department  excludes  almost  every  thing  of  the  former 
kind,  or  what  may  be  called  pathetic.  A  little  of  the  onction  above 
explained  is  the  utmost  that  here  ought  to  be  aspired  to.  There 
is  the  less  need  to  dispense  with  what  of  the  latter  kind  may  be 
helpful  for  rousing  attention.  I  hope,  therefore,  to  be  indulged  the 
liberty,  a  liberty  which  I  shall  use  very  sparingly,  of  availing  my- 
self of  the  plea  of  the  satirist, 

Ridentem  dicere  verum 
Quid  vetat  ? 

So  much  for  the  perspicuous  and  the  affecting  manner,  qualities 
in  the  style  which  ought  particularly  to  predominate  in  all  discourses 
from  the  pulpit.  There  are  other  graces  of  elocution,  which  may 
occasionally  find  a  place  there,  such  as  the  nervous,  the  elegant,  and 
some  others  ;  but  the  former  ought  never  to  be  wanting.  The  for- 
mer therefore  are  characteristic  qualities.  The  latter  are  so  far 
from  being  such,  that  sometimes  they  are  rather  of  an  opposite  ten- 
dency. The  nervous  style  requires  a  conciseness,  that  is  often 
unfriendly  to  that  perfect  perspicuity  which  ought  to  predominate 
in  all  that  is  addressed  to  the  Christian  people,  and  which  leads  a 
speaker  rather  to  be  diffuse  in  his  expression,  that  he  may  the  bet- 
ter adapt  himself  to  ordinary  capacities.  Elegance  too  demands  a 
certain  polish,  that  is  not  always  entirely  compatible  with  that  art- 
less simplicity,  with  which,  when  the  great  truths  of  religion  are 
adorned,  they  appear  always  to  the  most  advantage,  and  in 
the  truest  majesty.  They  are  "  when  unadorn'd,  adorn'd  the 
most." 

We  have  now  done  with  what  regards  in  general  the  sentiment 
and  the  elocution.  The  next  lecture  shall  be  on  the  pronun- 
ciation. 

*  Why  may  not  a  laughing  man  speak  the  truth  ? 
15 


118  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

LECTURE  IV.  ^Wl 

Of  Pronunciation. 

1  HAVE  in  the  two  preceding  discourses  finished  what  regards  in 
general  the  sentiments  and  the  elocution   proper  for  the  pulpit.    I 
intend  in  the  present  discourse  to  discuss  the  article  of  pronuncia- 
tion.    This  admits  the  same  division,  which    was  observed  in  the 
former  branch,  into  grammatical*  and  rhetorical.     The  former  was 
by  the   Greeks  denominated  gx^<wv)5(r4,  the  latter  vaoKUTt?.     As  it  is 
of  the  utmost  consequence,  when  we  are  entering  on  the  exarnina- 
tionofany  article,  that  we  form  precise  ideas  of  the  subject  of  inquiry, 
and  do  not  confound  things  in  themselves  distinct,  I  shall  begin  this 
lecture  with  a  definition  of  each  of  these,  to  which  I  must  beg  leave 
to  entreat  your   attention,  that  so  none  may  be  at  a  loss  about  the 
meaning  or    application  of  what  shall  be  advanced   in  the  sequel. 
As  to  the  first,  then,  grammatical  jttonunciation  consisteth  in  articu- 
lating, audibly  and  distinctly,  the  letters,  whether  vowels  or  conso- 
nants, assigning  to  each  its  appropriated  sound,  in  giving  the  seve- 
ral  syllables  their  just  quantity,  an(^  in  placing  the    accent,  or,  as 
some    call  it,   the  syllabic  emphasis,    in  every  word  on  the  proper 
syllable.     As  to  the  second,  rhetorical  prominciation  consisteth  in 
giving   such  an  utterance  to  the  several  words  in  a   sentence,  as 
shows  in  the  mind  of  the  speaker  a  strong  perception,  or  as  it  were 
feeling  of  the  truth  and  justness  of  the  thought   conveyed  by  them, 
and  in  placing  the  rhetorical  emphasis  in   every  sentence,  on  the 
proper  word,  that  is,  on  that  word  which,  by  being  pronounced  em- 
phatically, gives  the  greatest  energy  and  clearness  to  the  expression. 
Under  this  head   is    also  comprehended  gesture ;  as  both   imply  a 
kind  of  natural  expression,  superadded  to  that  conveyed  by  artificial 
signs,  or  the   words  of  the  language.     Under  the  term  gesture,  I 
would  be  understood  to  comprehend  not  only  the  action  of  the  eyes 
^nd  other  features  of  the  countenance,  but  also  that  which  results 
from  the  motion  of  the  hands  and  carriage  of  the  body.     This  tO' 
gether  with  the  proper  management  of  the  voice  was  all  comprised 
tinder  the   Greek  word  vmKSi<ri?,   borrowed  from  the    theatre,  but 
which,  for  want  of  a  term  of  equal  extent  in  our  language,   we  are 
forced  to  include  under  the  name  pronunciation.     Now  these   two 
\tinds  of  pronunciation,  the  grammatical  and  the  rhetorical,  are  so 

*  Instead  of  the  word  grammatical  in  reference  to  pronunciation,  the  word 
correct  is  now  more  commonly  employed.     Ed. 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  119 

perfectly  distinct,  that  each  may  be  found  in  a  very  eminent  degree 
without  the  other.  The  first  indeed  is  merely  an  effect  of  educa- 
tian ;  insomuch  that  one  who  has  had  the  good  fortune  to  be 
brought  up  in  a  place  where  the  language  is  spoken  in  purity,  and 
has  been  taught  to  read  by  a  sufficient  teacher,  must  inevitably,  if 
he  labours  under  no  natural  defect  in  the  organs  of  speech,  be  mas- 
ter of  grammatical  pronunciation.  The  second  is  more  properly,  in 
its  origin,  the  production  of  nature,  but  i«  capable  of  being  consid- 
erably improved  and  polished  by  education.  The  natural  qualities 
which  combine  in  producing  it,  are  an  exquisite  sensibility  joined 
with  a  good  ear  and  a  flexible  voice.  An  Englishman,  who  hath 
been  properly  educated,  and  always  in  good  company,  as  the  phrase 
is,  that  is,  in  the  company  of  those  who,  by  a  kind  of  tacit  consent, 
are  allowed  to  take  the  lead  in  language,  may  pronounce  so  as  to 
defy  the  censure  of  the  most  critical  grammarian,  and  yet  be,  in  the 
judgmentof  the  rhetorician,  a  most  languid  and  inanimate  speaker, 
one  who  knows  nothing  at  all  of  the  oratorical  pronunciation. 
Speakers  you  will  often  find  in  the  house  of  commons,  who  are 
perfect  in  the  one  and  totally  deficient  in  the  other.  On  the  other 
hand,  you  will  find  speakers  of  this  country  who,  in  respect  of  the 
last,  have  considerable  talents,  insomuch  that  they  can  excite  and 
fix  attention,  that  they  can  both  please  and  move,  that  their  voice 
seems  capable  alike  of  being  modulated  to  sooth  the  passions  or  to 
inflame  them,  yet  in  whose  pronunciation  a  grammarian  may  dis- 
cover innumerable  defects.  There  is  this  difference,  however, 
between  the  two  cases,  that  though  the  grammatical  pronunciation 
may  be  perfect  in  its  kind  without  the  rhetorical,  the  last  is  never 
in  perfection  without  the  first.  The  art  of  the  grammarian  in  this, 
as  in  the  former  article  of  expression,  serves  as  a  foundation  to  that 
of  the  orator.  It  will  be  proper  therefore  to  begin  with  a  few  re- 
marks upon  the  former. 

That  a  right  grammatical  pronunciation  will  deserve  some  re- 
gard from  us,  appears  from  the  same  reasons,  which  evince  that 
grammatical  expression  deserves  some  regard.  Those  reasons 
therefore  shall  not  be  now  repeated.  There  is,  however,  it  must  be 
acknowledged,  a  considerable  difference  between  the  two  cases. 
And  the  former  attempt  is  much  more  hazardous  than  the  latter. 
If  we  aim  no  higher,  than  that  the  words  we  use,  the  application  and 
the  construction  be  proper  English,  (which  is  all  that  grammatical 
expression  requires)  we  shall  never  run  the  risk  of  the  charge  of  af- 
fectation, than   which,  I  know  no  imputation  that  is  more  preju- 


IW  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

dicial  to  the   orator.     Whereas  a  forced  and  unnatural,  because 
unaccustomed  pronunciation,  and  the  awkward  mouthing  which 
the  attempt  often  occasions,    as   it   falls  within   the   observation 
of  the  generality  of  hearers,  so   it   is  more  disgusting  to   hearers 
of    taste    and    discernment,    than    perhaps    any    provincial    ac- 
cent whatsoever.     Shall   we  then   give  up  all  attempts  this  way  1 
1  do  not  say  that  neither.     But  let   us  keep  a  proper  medium    in 
our  attempts,  and  never  strain  beyond  what  we  can  effect  with  ease. 
Let  us  begin  by  avoiding  the  most  faulty  pronunciations  we  can  dis- 
cover in  ourselves,  or  which  have  been  remarked  to  us  by  others; 
and  let  us  endeavour  to  avoid  them  not  in   the  pulpit  only,    but  in 
common  conversation.     It  would  be  a  matter  of  considerable  conse- 
quence for  this  as  well  as  fOr  more  material  purposes,  that  young  men 
of  an  ingenuous  temper  and  good  sense,  who  happen  to  be  compan- 
ions, should  mutually  agree  to  serve  as  checks  and  monitors  to  one 
another.    I  know  not  any  thing  which  would  contribute  more  to  pre- 
vent the  contracting  of  ungainly  habits,  or  to  correct  them    timely 
when  contracted.     "A  friend's  eye,"  says  the  proverb,  *'  is  a  good 
mirror."     And  every  one  must  be  sensible,  that  there  are  several 
kinds  of  faults  and  improprieties,  which  totally  elude  the  discovery 
of  the  person  chargeable  with  them,  but  which  by  no  means  escape 
the  notice  of  the  attentive  spectator  or  auditor.     I  said  that  when  a 
faulty  manner  in  pronouncing  is  discovered,  it  ought  to  be  avoided 
not  in  the  pulpit  only,  but  in  conversation.     The  nearer  our  manner 
of  pronouncing  in  the  pulpit  is  to  that  we  daily  use,  the  more  easy 
and  the  more  natural  it  will  appear.     Example,  as  in  every  thing, 
so  here  in  particular,  goes  a  great  way.     Let  us  therefore  attend 
to  the  manner  of  the  best  speakers,  to  whose  company  we  have  ac- 
cess, and  we  shall  insensibly  conform  ourselves  to  it.     It  is  by  such 
insensible,  more  than  by  any  intentional  imitation,  that  every  man 
acquires  the  speech  and  pronunciation  which  he  uses.     And  by  the 
like  easy  and  gradual  influence  of  example,  by  which  a  faulty  pro- 
nunciation was  contracted,  it  will  best  be  cured.     The  only  caution 
necessary   on    this  article   is,    that  we  be    very  sure   as   to   the 
choice  we  make  of  patterns,  lest  unluckily  we  imitate  blemishes  for 
excellencies,  and  be  at   great  pains  in  acquiring,   what   we  ought 
rather  to  be  at  pains  to  avoid.     Grammars  and  dictionaries  may  be 
of  some  use  here,  but  are    not  sufficient  without   other  aid.     Dis- 
tinctions only  discernible   by  the  ear,  can  never  be  adequately  con- 
veyed  merely  by  the  eye.     There   is   one  part  of  pronunciation, 
however,  and  a  very  important  part,  which  may  be   learnt   solely 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  121 

by  book,  that  is,   the  placing  of  the  accent  or  syllabic   emphasis. 
So  much  for  grammatical  pronunciation. 

As  to  the  rhetorical  'pronunciation,  there  is  not  any  thing  so  pe- 
culiar in  the  Christian  eloquence,  as  to  require  that  we  make 
any  addition  of  moment  to  the  rules  on  this  subject  laid  down  in 
the  best  institutes  of  rhetoric,  which  I  recommend  to  your  serious 
perusal.  I  shall  only  remark  to  you  a  few  of  the  chief  and  most 
common  faults  in  this  way,  observable  in  preachers,  and  suggest 
some  hints,  by  a  due  attention  to  which,  one  may  attain  the  right 
management  of  the  voice,  and  be  enabled  to  avoid  those  faults. 
The  first  I  shall  observe,  though  not  in  itself  a  very  great, 
yet  is  a  very  common  fault,  and  often  proves  the  source  of 
several  others  ;  it  is  the  straining  of  the  voice  beyond  its  natural 
key,  commonly  the  effect  of  a  laudable  desire  to  make  one's  self  be 
heard  in  a  large  congregation.  This,  however,  is  one  of  those  ex- 
pedients, that  rarely  fail  to  defeat  the  purpose  which  occasioned 
them.  What  is  thus  spoken  in  a  forced  tone  (though  the  note  in 
the  musical  scale  emitted  by  the  voice  be  higher)  is  neither  so  dis- 
tinct, nor  so  audible,  as  what  is  spoken  in  the  natural  tone  of  voice. 
There  is  a  very  great  difference  between  speaking  high,  and  speak- 
ing loud  ;  though  these  two  are  often  confounded.  Women's  voices 
are  a  full  octave  higher  or  shriller  (for  that  is  all  the  term  means) 
than  men's,  and  yet  they  are  much  less  fitted  for  being  heard  in  a 
large  auditory.  In  a  chime  or  music  bells  the  bass  notes  are  all 
struck  on  the  biggest  bells,  and  the  treble  notes  on  the  smallest. 
Accordingly  the  former  are  heard  at  a  distance,  which  the  feeble 
sound  of  the  other  cannot  reach.  The  same  thing  may  be  observed 
of  the  pipes  in  an  organ.  Besides,  it  is  a  much  greater  stress  to  the 
speaker,  to  hold  out  with  his  voice  raised  ever  so  little  above  its  natural 
pitch,  and  it  lays  him  under  several  disadvantages  in  respect  of  pro- 
nunciation, of  which  I  shall  have  occasion  to  take  notice  afterwards. 

A  second  fault  which  is  very  common  with  preachers  is  too  great 
rapidity  of  utterance.  This  is  an  ordinary,  though  not  a  necessary 
consequence  of  committing  a  discourse  to  memory  and  repeating  it. 
A  person,  without  particularly  guarding  against  it,  is  apt  to  contract 
an  impatience  to  deliver  the  words,  as  fast  as  they  occur  to  his 
mind,  that  so  he  may  give  them  to  the  audience,  whilst  he  is  sure 
he  can  do  it.  This  also  is  a  great  hinderance  to  the  attainment  of 
an  affecting  or  energetic  pronunciation  ;  besides  that  it  greatly  fa- 
tigues the  attention  of  the  hearer,  whom,  after  all,  many  things  must 
escape,  which  otherwise  he  might  have  retained. 


122  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

A  third  fault  I  shall  observe  is  a  theatrical  and  too  violent  man- 
ner. This,  though  it  seems  to  proceed  from  a  commendable  ar- 
dour, sins  against  propriety  in  many  ways.  It  suits  not  the  gravi- 
ty of  the  subject;  and  to  appear  destitute  of  all  command  of  one's 
self  doth  not  befit  one  who  would  teach  others  to  obtain  a  perfect 
mastery  over  their  passions.  The  preacher's  manner  in  general 
ought  to  be  modest,  at  the  same  time  earnest  and  affecting. 

A  fourth  fault,  which  is  indeed  the  opposite  extreme  to  that  now 
mentioned,  is  an  insipid  monotony ^  by  which  every  thing  that  is 
said,  whether  narration,  explanation,  argumentation  or  address  to 
the  passions,  is  uniformly  and  successively  articulated  in  the  same 
listless,  lifeless  manner.  And  this  is  a  much  greater  fault  than  the 
preceding.  The  former  offends  only  hearers  of  taste  and  reflection, 
but  the  latter,  all  who  can  either  understand  or  feel.  Tfie  preach- 
er, in  such  a  case,  exhibits  the  appearance  of  a  school  boy  who  re- 
peats a  lesson  he  hath  conned  over,  but  who  doth  not  form  a  single 
idea  of  what  he  is  saying  from  beginning  to  end. 

The  fifth,  and  only  other  remarkable  fault  in  pronunciation  I 
shall  mention,  is  a  sing-song  manner  ;  or  what  we  commonly  call 
a  cant,  which  is  something  like  a  measure  of  a  tune,  that  the 
preacher  unintermittedly  runs  over,  'till  he  conclude  his  discourse. 
This,  as  a  kind  of  relief  to  the  lungs,  is  what  a  strained  voice  (the 
fault  in  speaking  first  mentioned)  when  it  becomes  habitual,  gener- 
ally terminates  in,  and  though  it  hath  not  the  same  air  of  indiffer- 
ence with  the  monotony,  is  in  other  respects  liable  to  the  same 
objections.  It  marks  no  difference  in  the  nature  of  the  things  said, 
and  consequently  (though  the  tune  itself  were  not  unpleasant)  it 
may  prove  a  lullaby,  and  dispose  the  hearers  to  sleep,  but  is  quite 
unfit  for  awakening  their  attention.  Both  the  last  mentioned  faults 
are  the  too  frequent  (not  the  unavoidable)  consequence  of  the  com- 
mon method  of  rehearsing  a  discourse  by  rote,which  has  been  verba- 
tim committed  to  memory.  This  very  naturally  leads  the  speaker  to 
fix  the  closest  attention  on  the  series  of  the  words  prepared,  that  he 
may  not  lose  the  thread.  And  this  as  naturally  carries  off"  his  at- 
tention entirely  from  the  thought. 

The  consideration  of  these  things  hath  often  led  me  to  doubt, 
which  of  the  two  methods  of  delivery,  reading  or  repeating,  we 
ought  to  recommend  to  students,  or  at  least  which  of  the  two,  if 
universal,  would  probably  have  the  best  effect,  and  be  attended  with 
fewest  disadvantages.  I  shall  candidly  lay  before  you,  what  hath 
occurred  to  my  thoughts  on  this  subject,  and  leave  it  to  every  one's 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTUKES.  123 

own  judgment  to  decide  for  himself.     That  a  discourse  well  spoken 
hath  a  stronger  effect  than  one  well  read,    will  hardly  bear  a  ques- 
tion.    From   this  manifest  truth  I  very  early  concluded,   and  was 
long  of  the  opinion,  that  the  way  of  reading  sermons  should  be  ab- 
solutely banished  from  the  pulpit.     But  from  farther  experience,  I 
am  now  disposed  to  suspect,  that  this  conclusion  was  rather   hasty. 
Though  by  proper  culture  the  powers  of  oratory  may  be  very  much 
improved,  yet  by  no  culture  whatever  will  these  powers  be  created, 
where  nature  hath  denied  them.     A  certain  original   and   natural 
talent  or  genius  for  art  to  work  upon,  is  as  necessary  in  the  orator, 
as  in  the  poet.     Now  if  all,  who  have  the  ministry  in  view,  were 
possest  of  this  natural  talent,  the  conclusion  we  mentioned  would 
certainly  be  just.     But  so  far  is  this  from  being  the  case,  that  ex- 
perience plainly  teacheth  us,    it  is   the   portion  of  very  few.     But 
though  there  be  not  many,  who  will  ever  arrive   at  the  pathos,  the 
irresistible  force  of  argument  and  the  sublimity,  in  which  the  glory 
of  eloquence  consists,  there  are  not  a  few  who  by  a  proper  applica- 
tion of  their  time  and  study,  will  be  capable  of  composing  justly,  of 
expressing  themselves  not  only  with  perspicuity,  but  with  energy, 
and  of  reading.  I  say  not  in  a  proper  and  inoffensive,  but  even  in  an 
affecting  manner.     So  much  more  common  are  the  talents  necessa- 
ry for  the  one   accomplishment,  than  those  requisite  for  the  other. 
I  have  indeed  heard  this  point  controverted,  and  people  maintain, 
that  it  was  as  easy  to  acquire  the  talent  of  repeating  with  energy  and 
propriety,  as  of  reading.     But  I  could  hardly  ever  think  them  seri- 
ous who  said  so,  or  at  least  that  they  had  duly  examined  the  subject. 
There  are,  no  doubt,  degrees  of  excellence  in  reading,  as  well  as  in 
repeating,  and  they  are  but  few,  that  attain  to  the  highest   degree 
in  either.     But  in  what  may  be  regarded  as  good  in  its  kind,  though 
not  the  best — I  speak  within  bounds,  when  I  say,  that  I  have  found 
six  good  readers,  for  one  who   repeated  tolerably.     As  to  my  per- 
sonal experience  I  shall  frankly   tell  you,  what  I  know  to  be  fact. 
1  have  tried  both  ways  ;  I  continued  long  in  the  practice  of  repeat- 
ing, and  was  even  thought  (if  people  did  not  very  much  deceive  me) 
to  succeed  in  it ;    but  I  am  so  absolutely  certain,  that  I  can   give 
more   energy,  and  preserve   the  attention  of  the  hearers  better,  to 
what  I  read  than  ever  it  was  in  my  power  to  do  to  what  I  repeated. 
Nor  is  it  any  wonder.     There  are  difficulties  to  be   surmounted  in 
the  latter  case,  which  have  no  place  at  all  in  the  former.     The  tal- 
ents in  other  respects  are  the  same,  that  fit  one  to  excel  in  either 
way.     Now  as  it  will,  1  believe,  be  admitted  by  every  body  who  re- 


124  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

fleets,  that  a  discourse  well  read  is  much  better  than  one  ill  spoken, 
I  should  not  think  it  prudent  to  establish  any  general  rule,  which 
would  probably  make  bad  speakers  of  many,  who  might  otherwise 
have  proved  good  readers.  There  is  something  in  charging  one's 
memory  with  a  long  chain  of  words  and  syllables,  and  this  is  one  of 
the  difficulties  L hinted  at,  and  then  running  on,  as  it  were,  me- 
chanically in  the  same  train,  the  preceding  word  associating  and 
drawing  in  the  subsequent,  that  seems  by  taking  off  a  man's  atten- 
tion from  the  thought  to  the  expression,  to  render  him  insuscepti- 
ble of  the  delicate  sensibility  as  to  the  thought,  which  is  the  true 
spring  of  rhetorical  pronunciation.  That  this  is  not  invariably  the 
effect  of  getting  by  heart,  the  success  of  some  actors  on  the  stage  is 
an  undeniable  proof.  But  the  comparative  facility,  arising  from 
the  much  greater  brevity  of  their  speeches,  and  from  ihe  relief  and 
emotion  that  is  given  to  the  player  by  the  action  of  the  other  dial- 
ogists  in  the  scene,  makes  the  greatest  difference  imaginable  in  the 
two  cases.  A  man,  through  habit,  becomes  so  perfectly  master  of 
a  speech  of  thirty  or  forty  lines,  which  will  not  take  him  three  min- 
utes to  repeat,  that  he  hath  no  anxiety  about  recollecting  the  words  : 
his  whole  attention  is  to  the  sentiment.  The  case  must  be  very 
different,  when  the  memory  is  charged  with  a  discourse  which  will 
take  thirty  minutes  to  deliver. 

Besides,  it  must  be  observed,  there  is  a  great  difference  between 
speaking  an  oration  and  repeating  it.  In  the  former  case,  the  ora- 
tor may  by  premeditation  have  made  himself  master  of  the  argu- 
ment ;  he  may  have  arranged  his  matter  in  his  own  mind,  but  as 
to  the  expression,  trusts  to  that  fluency  and  command  of  language 
which  by  application  and  practice  have  become  habitual  to  him.  It 
is  impossible,  that  any  speech  on  any  motion  in  the  house  of  com- 
mons, except  the  first  speech,  should  be  gotten  by  heart.  For  eve- 
ry following  one,  if  pertinent,  must  necessarily  have  a  reference 
to  what  was  said  on  the  argument  before.  In  like  manner  it  is  on- 
ly the  first  pleading  in  a  cause  at  the  bar,  which  can  have  the  ad- 
vantage of  such  preparation.  Whether  those,  who  open  the  cause 
or  question,  always  avail  themselves  of  this  power,  and  previously 
commit  to  memory  every  sentence  they  utter,  I  know  not.  But 
we  do  not  find,  that  these  speeches  have  generally  a  remarkable 
superiority  in  point  of  elocution,  over  those  which  follow,  as  it  is 
certain,  they  can  have  no  superiority  at  all  in  point  of  pronun- 
ciation. Several  of  Cicero's  best  orations  were  on  the  defensive 
side,  and  therefore  could  not   have  been  composed  verbatim  before 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  125 

they  were  spoken.  And  the  most  celebrated  oration  of  Demosthe- 
nes, that  which  at  the  time  had  the  most  wonderful  effect  upon  his 
auditory,  and  raised  to  the  highest  pitch  the  reputation  of  the  speak- 
er, the  oration  'jn^t  TUpava,  (for  the  crown)  was  an  answer  to  Ms- 
chines's  accusation ;  and  such  an  answer  as  it  was  absolutely  im- 
possible should  have  been,  either  in  words  or  method,  prepared  be- 
fore hearing  his  adversary  :  So  close  is  the  respect  it  has,  not  only 
to  the  sentiments,  but  to  the  very  expressions  that  had  been  used 
against  him.  And  the  two  parties  were  at  the  time  such  rivals  and 
enemies  as  to  exclude  the  most  distant  suspicion  of  concert.  It  de- 
serves our  notice,  that  instances  of  all  the  faults  in  pronunciation 
above  enumerated,  except  the  last,  are  to  be  found  both  in  the  sen- 
ate and  at  the  bar;  particularly  the  two  extremes  of  violence  and 
monotony.  And  these  are  easily  accounted  for.  The  one  is  a 
common  consequence  of  strong  passions,  where  there  is  neither 
the  taste  nor  the  judgment  that  is  necessary  for  managing  them. 
The  other  generally  prevails  where  there  is  a  total  want  both  of 
taste  and  of  feeling.  It  is  remarkable,  that  the  only  other  fault 
mentioned,  the  canting  pronunciation,  is  hardly  ever  found  but  in 
the  pulpit.  Nay,  what  would  at  first  appear  incredible,  I  have 
known  ministers  whose  sing-song  manner  in  preaching  was  a  per- 
fect soporific  to  the  audience,  pronounce  their  speeches  in  the  gen- 
eral assembly  with  great  propriety  and  energy.  The  only  account 
I  can  made  of  this  difference  is,  that  in  the  two  former  cases,  in 
the  senate  and  at  the  bar,  the  speeches  are  almost  always  spoken. 
Committing  the  whole,  word  for  word,  to  memory,  is,  I  believe, 
very  rarely  attempted.  Now  the  general  assembly  partakes  of  the 
nature  both  of  a  senate  and  couit  of  judicature.  Sermons,  on  the 
contrary,  are  more  generally  repeated.  They  are  very  few  who 
trust  to  a  talent  of  speaking  extempore  in  the  pulpit.  Now  when 
once  the  attention,  as  was  hinted  already,  loses  hold  of  the  thought, 
and  is  wholly  occupied  in  tracing  the  series  of  the  words,  the  speak- 
er insensibly,  to  relieve  himself  from  the  difficulty  of  keeping  up  his 
voice  at  the  same  stretch,  falls  into  a  kind  of  tune,  which,  without 
any  regard  to  the  sense  of  what  is  said,  returns  as  regularly,  as  if  it 
were  played  on  an  instrument.  One  thing  further  may  be  urged 
in  favour  of  reading,  and  it  is  of  some  consequence,  that  it  always 
requires  some  preparation.  A  discourse  must  be  written  before  it 
can  be  read.  When  a  man  who  does  not  read,  gets  over,  through 
custom,  all  apprehension  about  the  opinion  of  his  hearers,  or  re- 
IG 


126  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

spect  for  their  judgment,  there  is  some  danger,  that  laziness  may 
prompt  him  to  speak  without  any  preparation,  and  consequently  to 
become  careless  what  he  says.  But  to  return,  the  sum  of  what  has 
been  offered,  is  not  that  reading  a  discourse  is  universally  prefera- 
ble to  repeating  it.  By  no  means.  But  only  that  if  the  latter  way 
admits  of  higher  excellence,  the  former  is  more  attainable  and  less 
hazardous.* 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  training  of  young  men,  who  are  in- 
tended for  public  speakers,  to  read  and  speak  properly  and  grace- 
fully is  so  much  and  so  universally  neglected  in  latter  times.  The 
ancients  both  of  Greece  and  of  Rome,  sensible  of  the  importance 
of  this  article  in  educating  their  youth  for  the  forum  and  for  the 
senate,  were  remarkably  attentive  to  it ;  and  it  must  be  own- 
ed their  success  in  this  way  was  correspondent  to  their  care.  For 
however  much  we  moderns  appear  to  have  surpassed  them  in  some, 
and  equalled  them  perhaps  in  all  other  arts,  our  inferiority  in  re- 
gard to  eloquence  will  hardly  bear  a  dispute.  It  is  not  possible, 
however,  that  so  great  a  defect  in  modern  education  should  be  sup- 
plied by  a  few  cursory  directions,  which  is  all  that  your  leisure  and 


*  It  will  be  observed  that  in  this  paragraph  and  the  preceding,  the  author 
is  discussing  the  question,  whether  it  is  better  for  ministers  to  read  their  ser- 
mons in  the  pulpit  or  to  deliver  them  from  memory.  To  the  opinion  which 
he  has  expressed,  it  is  presumed  there  must  be  a  general  assent.  In  addi- 
tion to  his  reasons  against  repeating  sermons  from  memory,  it  is  worthy  of 
remark  that  this  method  of  preaching  would  require  an  entirely  dispropor- 
tionate share  of  time  from  ministers  in  general;  not  to  say,  that  the  mental 
exhaustion  consequent  upon  it,  could  not  well  be  sustained   year  after  year. 

There  is  another  mode  of  preaching  to  which  Dr.  Campbell  makes  scarce- 
ly any  reference  ;  and  respecting  which  it  is  perhaps  to  be  regretted  that  ho 
did  not  express  an  opinion.  That  his  opinion  respecting  it  would  have  been 
favourable  may  be  conjectured  from  his  remark  in  the  last  paragraph  :  'I  have 
known  ministers  whose  sing-song  manner  in  preaching  was  a  perfect  sopori- 
fic to  the  audience,  pronounce  their  speeches  in  the  general  assembly  with 
great  propriety  and  energy.'  He  accounts  for  this  difference  in  the  manner 
of  pronunciation  by  the  circumstance,  that  in  the  general  assembly  the 
speeches  are  spoken  as  in  the  senate  and  at  the  bar.  Now  if  those  ministers 
of  whose  manner  in  preaching  he  complains,  had  prepared  themselves  for 
preaching  in  the  same  manner  as  they  prepared  for  speaking  in  the  general 
assembly,  why  might  they  not  have  acquitted  themselves  with  similar  proprie- 
ty and  energy  ?  What  then  is  the  preparation  for  speaking  in  the  general  as- 
sembly, at  the  bar,  and  in  the  senate  ?  Not  indeed  by  committing  to  memory 
word  for  word  a  discourse  carefully  composed,  nor  yet  by  carefully  writing 
a  speech  with  the  expectation  of  reading  it ;  but  by  acquiring  an 
intimate    acquaintance    with    a    given     subject,    by    making    it    familiar 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  127 

the  prosecution  of  the  other  and  still  more  important  branches  of 
my  plan  will  here  give  scope  for.  To  attain  a  mastery  in  the  art 
of  speaking  would  require  much  study  improved  by  exercise  and 
corrected  by  conversation.  But  though  we  cannot  do  all  that  we 
would,  let  us  not  for  this  think  ourselves  excused  from  doing  what 
we  can. 

The  first  thing  then  I  would  advise  the  young  preacher  at  his 
setting  out,  in  regard  to  the  management  of  his  voice,  is  cautiously 
to  avoid  beginning  on  too  high  a  clef  His  natural  tone  of  speak- 
ing in  conversation  is  that  which  will  always  succeed  best  with 
him,  in  which,  if  properly  managed,  he  will  be  best  heard,  be  able 
to  hold  out  longest,  and  have  most  command  of  his  voice  in  pro- 
nouncing. Let  it  be  observed,  that  in  conversing  (according  as  the 
company  is  large  or  small)  we  can  speak  louder  or  softer,  without 
altering  the  tone.  Our  aim  therefore  ought  to  be,  to  articulate  the 
words  distinctly,  and  to  give  such  a  forcible  emission  to  the  breath 
in  pronouncing,  as  makes  the  voice  reach  farther  without  raising  it 
to  a  higher  key.  Every  man's  voice  has  naturally  a  certain  com- 
pass, above  which  it  cannot  rise,  and  below  which  it  cannot  sink. 
The  ordinary  tone,  on  which  we  converse,  is  nearly  about  the  middle 


to  the  mind,  and  by  thoroughly  engaging  in  respect  to  it  the  whole  heart  and 
soul.  With  such  preparation,  a  man  of  ordinary  self-possession  will  deliver 
his  sentiments  without  embarrassment  and  with  effect.  Would  educated 
ministers  generally  adopt  such  a  method,  except  on  subjects  requiring  pecu- 
liar nicety  of  expression,  the  mode  of  preaching  without  fully  written  dis- 
courses would  soon  obtain  universal  respect,  and  the  pulpit  would  furnish 
strains  of  the  highest  eloquence. 

The  chief  objection  to  this  mode  of  preaching  is,  that  men  who  are  so  fre- 
quently required  to  speak  in  public  as  ministers  are,  would  be  very  much  in 
danger  of  neglecting  the  pen,  and  thus  of  acquiring  habits  of  inaccuracy  in 
thinking  and  expression.  But  this  is  not  a  necessary  evil.  It  may  be  guard- 
ed against ;  and  they  who  adopt  this  mode  ought  very  frequently  to  employ 
their  pens  in  writing  essays,  parts  of  sermons,  and  not  unfrequently  whole 
sermons.  Nor  ought  it  to  be  expected,  because  the  manner  of  preaching 
recommended  in  this  note  has  decided  advantages  as  a  general  manner,  that 
a  preacher  should  never  read  his  sermon  whatever  be  the  subject,  or  that  no 
one  should  preach  who  feels  after  many  trials  that  he  ought  to  have  his  manu- 
script before  him. 

On  this  subject,  it  is  with  much  pleasure  that  I  refer  the  reader  to  a  work 
by  the  Rev.  Henry  Ware,  Jr.  Professor  of  Pulpit  Eloquence  and  the  Pastoral 
Care  in  Harvard  University,  entitled  Hints  on  Extemporaneous  Preaching. 
The  third  edition  of  this  work  has  lately  been  given  to  the  public.  It  is  the 
most  satisfactory  work  of  the  kind  that  can  be  consulted  ;  and  ought  by  all 
means  to  be  read  in  connection  with  this  Lecture.     Ed. 


128  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

of  that  compass.  When  we  make  that,  therefore,  as  it  were,  the  key- 
note of  our  discourse,  we  have  the  power  with  ease  of  both  elevating 
and  depressing  the  voice,  in  uttering  particular  words,  just  as  the 
sense  requires,  that  they  be  uttered  emphatically  or  otherwise. 
When  we  recommend  the  ordinary  tone  of  the  voice  in  conversation, 
as  that  on  which  we  ought  in  public  to  attempt  to  speak,  we  would 
not  be  understood  to  recommend  an  insipid  monotony  ;  we  only 
mean  to  signify,  that  this  should  serve  as  the  foundation  note,  on 
which  the  general  tenour  of  the  discourse  should  run.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  being  one  of  the  best  preservatives  against  that  egregious 
fault  in  speaking,  by  giving  the  voice  the  greatest  latitude  both  in 
rising  and  falling  with  facility,  is  one  reason  that  I  so  earnestly  re- 
commend it.  Every  body  must  be  sensible,  that  when  the  voice  is 
at  an  unnatural  stretch,  it  can  give  no  emphasis  to  any  word  what- 
ever without  squeaking  ;  so  that  the  speaker,  for  the  ease  of  his 
own  lungs,  is  forced  to  take  refuge,  either  in  a  tiresome  monotony 
or  a  drowsy  cant  Besides,  it  deserves  to  be  remarked,  that  most 
men  when  earnest  in  conversation  on  an  affecting  subject,  naturally 
without  any  study,  give  their  voice  the  proper  inflections  which  the 
import  of  what  is  said  requires.  When,  therefore,  we  speak  in 
public,  if  we  ourselves  enter  seriously  into  the  subject,  and  are  as 
it  were  interested  in  it,  we  shall,  without  any  effort,  being  taught 
by  nature  and  assisted  by  habit,  give  such  ^n  emphasisto  the  words 
which  require  it,  and  such  cadence  to  the  sentences,  as  in  conversing 
on  serious  and  moving  subjects  we  never  fail  to  employ.  Whereas, 
if  we  speak  on  a  forced  key,  we  cannot  have  the  same  assistance 
either  from  nature  or  habit. 

A  second  direction  I  would  give,  is  to  be  very  careful,  in  proceed- 
ing in  your  discourse,  to  preserve  in  the  general  tenour  of  it  the 
same  key  on  which  you  began.  Many,  who  begin  right,  insensibly 
raise  their  voice  as  they  advance,  till  at  last  they  come  to  speak  in 
a  tone  that  is  very  painful  to  themselves,  and  by  necessary  conse- 
quence, grating  to  their  hearers.  It  will  require  much  care,  atten- 
tion, and  even  practice,  to  prevent  this  evil. 

It  will  not  a  little  contribute  to  this  end,  that  you  diligently  ob- 
serve the  following  direction,  the  third  1  am  to  give  on  this  subject, 
which  is,  that  you  always  begin  by  speaking  very  deliberately  and 
rather  slowly.  Even  a  drawling  pronunciation,  in  the  introduction 
of  a  discourse,  is  more  pardonable  than  a  rapid  one.  Most  subjects 
will  require  that  you  grow  somewhat  quicker  as  you  advance.  But 
of  all  things  be  careful  to  avoid  that  uniform  rapidity  of  utterance, 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  129 

which  is  very  unattractive,  as  having  the  evident  marks  of  repeat- 
ing a  lesson  by  rote,  which  is  so  great  an  enemy  to  all  emphasis  and 
distinction  in  pronouncing,  and  which,  besides,  even  to  the  most 
attentive  hearer,  throws  out  the  things  delivered  faster  than  his 
mind  is  able  to  receive  them.  The  fourth  and  last  direction  I 
shall  give,  is  what  was  hinted  already,  frequent  practising  in  read- 
ing, speaking  and  repeating  before  one  sensible  companion  at  the 
least,  or  more  where  they  may  be  had,  who  should  be  encouraged 
to  offer  with  freedom  and  candour  such  remarks  and  censures  as 
have  occurred.  So  much  for  the  general  rules  of  rhetorical  pro- 
nunciation in  preaching.  A  great  deal  more  might  be  profitably 
offered  ;  but  where  such  a  multiplicity  of  subjects  demand  our  at- 
tention and  a  share  of  our  time,  a  great  deal  on  each  must  be  left 
to  your  own  application  and  diligence. 


LECTURE  V. 

Discourses  distributed  into  various  kinds,  as  addressed  to  the  Understanding, 
the  Imagination,  the  Passions,  and  the  Will. 

I  PROCEED,  in  the  third  place,  to  inquire  into  the  various  kinds 
of  discourses,  which  the  Christian  eloquence  admits,  and  the  rules 
in  regard  to  composition,  that  ought  to  be  followed  in  each.  Be- 
fore I  enter  on  it,  I  will  take  the  freedom  to  digress  a  little,  and 
give  you  a  brief  account  of  the  origin  of  the  plan,  that  I  am  going 
to  lay  before  you,  which  may  be  regarded  as  the  outline  of  an  in- 
stitute of  pulpit  eloquence.  When  I  was  myself  a  student  of  divin- 
ity in  this  place,  there  were  about  seven  or  eight  of  us  fellow  stu- 
dents, who^  as  we  lived  mostly  in  the  town,  formed  ourselves  into 
a  society,  the  great  object  of  which  was  our  mutual  improvement, 
both  in  the  knowledge  of  the  theory  of  theology,  and  also  in  what- 
ever might  be  conducive  to  qualify  us  for  the  practical  part  or  duties 
of  the  pastoral  function.  We  added  to  our  original  number,  as  we 
found  occasion,  from  time  to  time,  for  our  society  subsisted  a  good 
many  years.  Several  valuable  members  have  already  finished  the 
part  assigned  them  by  Providence  on  this  stage.  As  to  those  who 
remain,  I  shall  only  say,  in  general,  that  they  are  all  men  of  consid- 
eration and  character  in  the  church.  I  should  not  have  been  so 
particular,  but  that  I  would  gladly  by  the  way  recommend  the  prac- 


130  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

tice  of  forming  such  small  societies,  when  it  can  conveniently  be 
accomplished.  I  can  assure  you  from  my  own  experience,  that 
when  there  is  a  proper  choice  of  persons,  an  entire  confidence  in 
one  another,  and  a  real  disposition  to  be  mutually  useful^  it  is  one 
of  the. most  powerful  means  of  improvement  that  I  know.  Amongst 
other  things  discussed  in  this  small  society,  one  was,  an  inquiry  in- 
to the  nature  of  sermons  and  other  discourses  proper  for  the  pulpit, 
the  different  kinds  into  which  they  might  fitly  be  distributed,  and 
the  rules  of  composition  that  suited  each.  On  this  subject  we  had 
several  conversations.  When  these  were  over,  I  had  the  task  as- 
signed me  to  make  out  a  short  sketch  or  abstract  of  the  whole. 
This,  I  the  more  readily  undertook,  as  it  had  been,  for  some  time 
before,  a  favourite  study  of  mine,  having,  when  qualifying  myself 
for  another  business,  given  some  attention  to  the  forensic  oratory  of 
the  ancients,  and  having  afterwards  remarked  both  the  analogies 
and  differences  between  it  and  the  Christian  eloquence.  Of  this 
abstract,  every  one  who  [chose  it  took  a  copy ;  and  as  we  had  no 
object  but  general  usefulness,  every  one  was  at  liberty  to  communi- 
cate it  to  whom  he  pleased.  I  have  a  copy  of  this  still  in  my  pos- 
session, and  as  in  the  main  I  am  at  present  of  the  same  sentiments, 
I  shall  freely  use  it  in  the  lectures  1  am  to  give  on  this  subject. 
At  the  same  time  I  do  not  intend  servilely  to  follow  it,  but  shall 
make  such  alterations  as  1  shall  see  cause  ;  for  I  acknowledge,  that 
further  experience  hath  made  me  in  some  particulars  change  my 
opinion.  Besides  suggesting  to  you  the  advantages  that  may  re- 
dound from  such  small  societies  formed  among  students  for  mutual 
improvement,  I  had  another  reason  for  prefacing  my  prelections  on 
the  composition  of  pulpit  discourses  with  this  anecdote,  which  was, 
that  I  might  not  appear  to  arrogate  more  merit  than  truly  belonged 
to  me.  To  come  therefore  to  the  point  in  hand  ;  it  was  observed 
in  a  former  lecture  that  the  word  eloquence,  in  its  greatest  latitude, 
denotes  that  art  or  talent  by  which  the  discourse  is  adapted  to  its 
end.  Now  all  the  legitimate  ends  of  speaking,  whatever  be  the 
subject,  you  will  find,  if  you  attend  to  it,  are  reducible  to  these  four. 
Every  speech  hath,  or  ought  to  have,  for  its  professed  aim,  either 
to  enlighten  the  understanding,  to  please  the  imagination,  to  move 
the  passions,  or  to  influence  the  will. 

The  first  of  these  may  be  subdivided  into  two  others.  When  a 
speaker  addresseth  himself  to  the  understanding,  he  proposes  the 
instruction  of  his  hearers,  and  that  either  by  explaining  some  doc- 
trine unknown  or  not  distinctly  comprehended  by  them,  or  by 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  131 

proving  some  position  disbelieved  or  doubted  by  them.  In  other 
words,  he  proposeth  either  to  dispel  ignorance  or  to  vanquish  error. 
In  the  one,  his  aim  is  their  information,  in  the  other,  their  convic- 
tion. Accordingly  the  predominant  quality  of  the  former,  is  perspi- 
cuity, of  the  latter,  argument.  By  that,  we  are  made  to  know  ;  by 
this,  to  believe. 

The  name  of  address  to  the  imagination  may  seem  at  first,  to 
some  hearers,  to  convey  a  notion  of  too  much  levity,  to  be  a  suita- 
ble characteristic  of  any  thing  which  ought  to  come  from  the  pulpit. 
But  this  is  a  mere  prejudice,  arising  from  an  unfavourable  sense 
that  is  sometimes  put  upon  the  word  imagination,  as  opposed  to 
truth  and  reality.  Whereas  with  us,  it  only  means  that  faculty  of 
the  mind,  whereby  it  is  capable  of  conceiving  and  combining 
things  together,  which  in  that  combination  have  neither  been  per- 
ceived by  the  senses,  nor  are  remembered.  Now  in  that  accepta- 
tion of  the  word,  let  it  be  observed,  that  all  fables,  apologues,  para- 
bles, and  allegories,  are  addressed  to  the  imagination.  Poetry,  for 
the  most  part,  both  sacred  and  profane,  is  an  address  of  this  sort ; 
in  like  manner  all  prophecy.  Indeed  in  the  Jewish  idiom  poetry 
and  prophecy  were  synonymous  terms.  Hence  it  is,  that  the  apos- 
tle Paul  speaking  of  the  Cretans,  does  not  scruple  to  call  one  of 
their  poets,  though  a  pagan,  a  prophet  of  their  own.  This  only  by 
the  way,  in  order  to  remove  any  dislike  or  unfavourable  preposses- 
sion which  may  be  occasioned  by  the  name. 

In  regard  to  preaching,  the  only  subject  with  which  we  are  at 
present  concerned,  the  imagination  is  addressed,  by  exhibiting  to  it 
a  lively  and  beautiful  representation  of  a  suitable  object.  As  in  this 
exhibition  the  task  of  the  orator  like  that  of  the  painter,  consisteth  in 
imitation,  the  merit  of  the  work  results  entirely  from  these  two 
sources,  dignity  as  well  in  the  subject  or  thing  imitated,  as  in  the 
manner  of  imitation,  and  resemblance  in  the  performance  or  picture. 
The  principal  scope  for  this  kind  of  address  is  in  narration  and  de- 
scription, and  it  attains  the  summit  of  perfection  in  what  is  called 
the  sublime,  or  those  great  and  noble  images,  which,  when  in  suit- 
able colouring  presented  to  the  mind,  do,  as  it  were,  distend  the 
imagination,  and  delight  the  soul,  as  with  something  superlatively 
excellent.  But  it  is  evident,  that  to  this  creative  faculty  the  fancy 
frequently  lends  her  aid  in  promoting  still  nobler  ends.  From  her 
exuberant  stores,  most  of  those  tropes  and  figures  are  derived,  which 
have  such  a  marvellous  efficacy  in  rousing  the  passions,  and  by 
some  secret,  sudden  and  inexplicable  association,  awaking  all  the 


132  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

tenderest  emotions  of  the  heart.  In  that  case,  the  address  of  the 
orator  is  intended  not  ultimately,  to  astonish  by  the  loftiness  of  the 
images,  or  to  charm  by  the  beauteous  resemblance,  which  the 
painting  bears  to  nature,  nay,  it  will  not  permit  the  hearers  even  a 
moment's  leisure  for  making  the  comparison,  but  as  by  some  mag- 
ical spell,  hurries  them,  before  they  are  aware,  into  love,  pity,  grief, 
terror,  aversion  or  desire.  It  therefore  assumes  the  denomination 
of  pathetic,  which  is  the  characteristic  of  the  third  species  of  dis- 
courses, that  are  addressed  to  the  passions. 

The  fourth  and  last  kind,  the  most  complex  of  all,  which  is  cal- 
culated to  influence  the  will,  and  persuade  to  action,  as  it  is  in  re- 
ality an  artful  mixture  of  that  which  proposeth  to  convince  the 
judgment,  and  that  which  interests  the  passions,  its  distinguishing 
excellency  results  from  these  two,  the  argumentative  and  the  pathet- 
ic incorporated  together.  These  acting  with  united  force,  consti- 
tute that  vehemence,  that  warm  eviction,  that  earnest  and  affecting 
contention,  which  is  admirably  fitted  for  persuasion,  and  hath  al- 
ways been  regarded  as  the  supreme  qualification  in  an  orator.  Of 
the  four  sorts  of  discourses  now  enumerated,  it  may  be  observed  in 
general,  that  each  preceding  species,  in  the  order  above  exhibited, 
is  preparatory  to  the  subsequent,  that  each  subsequent  species  is 
founded  on  the  preceding,  and  that  thus  they  ascend  in  a  regular 
progression.  Knowledge,  the  object  of  the  understanding,  furnish- 
eth  materials  for  the  fancy  ,•  the  fancy  culls,  compounds,  and  by  her 
mimic  art  disposes  these  materials  so  as  to  affect  the  passions ;  the 
passions  are  the  natural  spurs  to  volition  or  action,  and  so  need  on- 
ly to  be  rightly  directed.  So  much  in  general  for  the  different 
kinds  of  discourses  on  whatever  subject,  from  the  bare  considera- 
tion of  the  object  addressed,  understanding,  imagination,  passion, 
will,  and  those  fundamental  principles  of  eloquence  in  the  largest 
acceptation  which  result  from  these.  But  as  the  kind  addressed  to 
the  understanding  has  been  subdivided  into  two,  that  which  bare- 
ly explains,  and  that  which  proves,  1  shall  henceforth  consider 
them  as  five  in  number. 

I  come  now  to  apply  these  universal  principles  to  the  particular 
subject,  with  which  we  are  immediately  concerned.  It  hath  been 
occasionally  observed,  oftener  than  once,  that  the  reformation  of 
mankind  is  the  great  and  ultimate  end  of  the  whole  ministerial 
function,  and  especially  of  this  particular  branch,  preaching  or  dis- 
coursing from  the  pulpit.  But  it  is  not  necessary,  that  the  ultimate 
end  of  the  whole  should  be  the  immediate  scope  of  every  part.     It 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  1^ 

is  enough,  that  the  immediate  scope  of  the  part  be  such,  that  the 
attainment  of  it  is  manifestly  a  step  towards  the  ultimate  end  of  the 
whole.  In  other  words,  the  former  ought  always  to  serve  as  a 
means  for  the  effecting  of  the  latter.  Let  us  proceed  in  consider- 
ing the  propriety  of  particular  and  immediate  ends  by  this  rule. 

First  then,  in  order  to  effect  the  reformation  of  men,  that  is,  in 
order  to  bring  them  to  a  right  disposition  and  practice,  there  are 
some  things  which  of  necessity  they  must  be  made  to  know.  No 
one  will  question,  that  the  knowledge  of  the  nature  and  extent  of 
the  duties  which  they  are  required  to  practise,  and  of  the  truths 
and  doctrines  which  serve  as  motives  to  practice,  is  absolutely  nec- 
essary. The  explication  of  these  in  the  pulpit  forms  a  species  of 
discourses  which  falls  under  the  first  class  above  mentioned.  It  is 
addressed  to  the  understanding,  its  aim  is  information,  the  only  ob- 
stacle it  hath  to  remove  is  ignorance.  Sermons  of  this  sort  we 
shall  henceforth  distinguish  by  the  term  explanatory.  Now  if 
knowledge  is  the  first  step  in  religion,  faith  is  certainly  the  second, 
for  the  knowledge  of  any  tenet  influenceth  our  conduct  only  so  far 
as  it  is  believed.  My  knowledge  of  the  peculiar  doctrines  maintain- 
ed by  Mahometans  nowise  affects  my  practice.  Why  ?  Because  I 
do  not  believe  them.  When  therefore  revelation  in  general,  or 
any  of  its  fundamental  doctrines  in  particular,  are  known  to  be  call- 
ed in  question,  by  a  considerable  part  of  the  congregation,  it  is 
doubtless  incumbent  on  the  preacher  earnestly  to  contend  for 
the  faith  which  was  once  delivered  to  the  saints,  and  conse- 
quently it  must  be  a  proper  subject  for  the  pulpit  to  defend  the 
cause  of  religion  by  refuting  the  cavils  of  gainsayers,  and  publicly 
evincing  the  truth.  Such  defence  and  confutation  form  a  spe- 
cies of  discourses  which  falls  under  the  second  class  above  men- 
tioned. It  is  addressed  to  the  understanding,  its  aim  is  conviction  ; 
the  adversaries  it  encounters  are  scepticism  and  error.  Discourses 
of  this  sort  we  shall  distinguish  by  the  name  controversial.  Both 
the  above  sorts,  the  explanatory  and  the  controversial,  as  they  co- 
incide in  the  object  addressed,  the  understanding  of  the  hearers,  go 
also  under  the  common  name  of  instructive. 

Further,  as  one  way,  and  indeed  a  very  powerful  way,  of  recom- 
mending religion  is  by  example,  it  must  be  conducive  to  the  gener- 
al end  of  preaching  above  mentioned,  to  make  it  sometimes  the  bu- 
siness of  a  sermon,  to  exhibit  properly  any  known  good  charac- 
ter, by  giving  a  lively  narrative  of  the  person's  life,  or  of  any  signal 
period  of  his  life,  or  of  any  particular  virtue,  as  illustrated  through 
17 


134  CAMPBELL- S  LECTURES. 

the  different  periods  of  his  life.  For  performances  of  this  kind  the 
history  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  affords  the  richest  fund  of  matter. 
In  like  manner  the  lives  of  the  saints  recorded  in  scripture,  the 
prophets,  apostles,  and  martyrs,  such  at  least  with  which  from  the 
accounts  given  in  holy  writ  we  have  occasion  to  be  acquainted, 
make  very  proper  subjects.  Add  to  these,  what  are  called  funeral 
sermons,  or  merited  encomiums  on  the  life  and  actions  of  deceased 
persons,  eminent  for  virtue  and  piety,  whose  character  is  well 
known  to  the  people  addressed.  It  may  not  want  its  use,  on  the 
contrary,  to  delineate  sometimes  in  proper  colours  the  conduct  of 
the  vicious.  To  do  justice  to  the  respectable  qualities  and  worthy 
actions  of  a  good  man  is  to  present  an  audience  with  an  amiable 
and  animated  pattern  of  Christian  excellence,  which  by  opera- 
ting on  their  admiration  and  their  love,  raiseth  in  their  mind  a 
pious  emulation.  That  we  are,  without  attending  to  it,  induced 
to  imitate  what  we  admire  and  love,  will  not  admit  a  question. 
Exhibitions  of  this  kind  from  the  pulpit  form  a  species  of  discour- 
ses which  falls  under  the  third  class  above  mentioned.  They  are 
addressed  to  the  imagination,  and  their  scope  is  to  promote  virtue 
by  insinuation  ;  the  view  of  excellence  engages  love,  love  awakes 
emulation,  and  that  as  naturally  produces  imitation.  In  order  to 
distinguish  such  discourses,  we  shall  hencfeforth  denominate  them 
commendatory. 

Again,  when  an  audience  is  about  to  be  employed  in  any  sol- 
emn office  of  religion,  which,  that  it  may  prove  edifying  to  those 
engaged  in  it,  requires  in  them  a  devout,  a  recollected,  and  a  be- 
nevolent disposition  of  soul,  it  will  doubtless  tend  to  promote  the 
general  end,  reformation,  to  make  it  the  immediate  scope  of  the 
sermon,  by  working  on  the  affections  of  the  audience,  to  mould 
them  into  a  suitable  frame.  Sermons  of  this  sort  fall  under  the 
fourth  class  above  mentioned ;  they  are  addressed  to  the  passions, 
and  their  scope  is  to  beget  virtuous  and  devout  habits  by  conforma- 
tion. This  species  of  discourses  we  call  pathetic.  It  deserves, 
however,  to  be  remarked,  that  the  pathos  excited  by  the  preacher, 
ought  ever  to  be  accompanied  with,  and  chastened  by,  piety,  sub- 
mission and  charity.  At  the  same  time,  that  it  conveys  both  light 
and  heat  to  the  soul,  it  is  pure  and  inoffensive ;  like  that  wherein 
God  appeared  to  Moses  in  the  bush  which  burned,  but  was  not  con- 
sumed. It  is  this  kind  of  pathos  in  its  lowest  degree,  which  the 
French  devotional  writers  have  distinguished  by  the  name  ofonction, 
but  for  which  we  have  not  a  proper  term  in  English.     Mr.  Gibbon, 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  135 

a  late  celebrated  historian,  says  in  one  place,  after  Jortin,  that  what 
the  French  call  onction,  the  English  call  cant.  This  on  some  occa- 
sions may  be  true  ;  but  it  is  not  the  constant  or  even  the  general 
meaning  of  the  word.  What  the  English  call  cant  in  preaching, 
is  no  other  than  a  frequent  recurrence  to  certain  common  words 
and  phrases,  with  which  the  people  are  delighted  merely  through 
habit,  but  which  convey  no  sound  instruction  whatever.  That 
termed  onction  by  the  French,  is  such  a  manner  in  the  speaker,  as 
convinces  the  hearers  that  he  is  much  in  earnest,  that  he  speaks 
from  real  affections  to  them,  and  thereby  strongly  engages  their  at- 
tention. That  cant  with  ignorant  hearers  may  produce  an  effect 
somewhat  similar,  is  not  to  be  denied.  But  the  result  upon  the 
whole  cannot  be  the  same.  Onction  is  an  excellent  vehicle  for  in- 
struction ;  but  where  no  instruction  is  conveyed,  the  hearer  can  be 
rendered  neither  wiser  nor  better  by  mere  cant ;  he  may  be  hereby 
made  a  greater  bigot  and  a  greater  fool.  The  two  last  kinds  of 
discourses,  it  must  be  owned,  are  near  a-kin  to  each  other,  and  very 
apt  to  be  confounded.  The  enemies  they  combat  are  indifference 
and  listlessness.  If  we  thought  it  necessary  to  observe  a  scru- 
pulous exactness  in  distinguishing,  we  should  rather  say  (for  the 
words  are  not  synonymous)  that  the  enemy  of  the  former  is  indiffer- 
ence, and  of  the  latter,  listlessness.  And  let  me  add,  these  often 
prove  more  dangerous  adversaries  to  religion,  than  others  of  more 
hostile  appearance  and  of  more  formidable  names. 

Finally,  it  will  not  be  questioned,  that  it  will  frequently  be  prop- 
er to  make  it  the  direct  design  of  a  discourse  to  persuade  to  a  good, 
or  to  dissuade  from  a  bad  life  in  general,  or  to  engage  to  the  per- 
formance of  any  particular  duty,  or  to  an  abstinence  from  any  par- 
ticular sin,  and  that  either  from  all  the  arguments,  or  from  any  one 
class  of  arguments  afforded  by  the  light  of  nature,  or  by  revelation, 
and  adapted  to  the  purpose.  Discourses  of  this  sort  fall  under  the  fifth 
and  last  class  above  mentioned.  They  are  addressed  to  the  will  ; 
their  aim  is  persuasion.  The  enemies  they  combat,  are  irreligion  and 
vice.     Such  sermons  we  discriminate  by  the  term  persuasive. 

Let  us  now,  for  further  illustration  of  the  subject,  consider  wheth- 
er the  different  sorts  of  discourses  from  the  pulpit  above  enumera- 
ted bear  any  analogy  to  the  different  sorts  of  orations  treated  of  by 
ancient  rhetoricians.  These  both  Greeks  and  Romans,  after  Aris- 
totle, have  distributed  into  three  kinds,  the  judiciary,  the  demon- 
strative, and  the  deliberative.  The  judiciary  ^  is  the  name  by  which 
the  Stagyrite  has  thought  fit  to  distinguish  the  pleadings  of  advo* 


136  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

cates  or  counsellors,  whether  in  accusation  of  an  adversary,  or  in 
defence  of  a  client.     As  in  all  such  pleadings,  and  indeed    in  all 
litigation  whatever,  there  is  something  affirmed  by  one  of  the   liti- 
gants, which  is  denied  by  the  other,  so  the  aim  of  each  is  to  con- 
vince the  bench,  that  his  representation  is  agreeable  to  truth,  and 
to  refute  the  arguments  of  his  antagonist.     The  point  in  dispute  is 
sometimes  a  question  of  fact.     Did  the  defendent  do,  or  not  do,  the 
action,  with  which  he  is  charged  by  the  plaintiff?    Sometimes  it  is 
a  question  of  right.     The  fact  may  be  undeniable  ;  and  the  only 
point  in   debate.    Was  it   right,  wrong,  or  indifferent?    lawful  or 
criminal  ?  Sometimes  indeed  both  points  may  be  contended  by  the 
parties.     But  it  doth  not  belong  to  us,  to  enter  into  these  minutiae, 
or  consider  the  different  sources  of  topics,  whence  the  proof  must 
be  derived.     Only   from   what   hath  been  said,  it  is  manifest  that 
this  species,  from  its  very  nature,  is  perfectly  analogous  to  the  sec- 
ond class  of  sermons,  the  controversial.     It  is   directed  to  the  un- 
derstanding ;  its  aim  is  conviction  ;  the  adversaries  it  professeth  to 
combat,  are  doubtfulness  and  mistake.     The  demonstrative,  a  name 
given  to  those  panegyrics  or   funeral  orations,  which  were   some- 
times by  public  authority  pronounced  in  honour  of  departed  patri- 
ots and  heroes,    must  from   the  design  of  insinuating  the   love  of 
virtue  by  exhibiting   such  examples  to  their  imitation,   so   exactly 
and  so  evidently  coincide  in  form  and  composition,  (however  dif- 
ferent in  regard  to  matter  or  subject)  to  the   third  class  of  ser- 
mons above  mentioned,  the   commendatory,  that  I  should  think  it 
unnecessary  to  attempt  any  further  illustration  of  it.     Only  it  may 
not  be  amiss  to  observe  here  by  the  way,  that  to  this  political  expe- 
dient among  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans,  of  paying  such  pub- 
lic honours  to  their  great  men  departed,  perhaps  more  than  to  any 
other,  that  love  of  their  country,  that  contempt  of  life,  and  that 
thirst  of  military  glory,  for  which  they  were  so  remarkable,  is  to  be 
ascribed.     The  term  deliberative  is  applied  to  speeches  in  the  senate 
or  in  the  assembly  of  the  people,  whose  express  aim  is  to  persuade 
the  audience  to  come  to  a  certain  resolution,  in  regard  to  their  con- 
duct as  a  commonwealth  or  state,  such  as,   to  declare    war,  or  to 
make  peace,  to  enter  into  an  alliance,  or  the  contrary.     Discourses 
of  this  sort  must  evidently  be  in    many  respects  very  similar  to  the 
fifth  and  last   class  of  sermons    above  mentioned.     They  are  ad- 
dressed to  the  will,  their   aim  is   persuasion.     The  enemies   they 
combat  are  temerity,   imprudence,  and  other  such  vices,  consider- 
ed particularly  as  political   evils,   as   prejudicial  to  the  interest  or 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  137 

honour  of  the  state.  Nay,  there  will  be  often  found  a  pretty  consid- 
erable coincidence  in  the  topics,  from  which  the  arguments,  in 
both  these  kinds  of  persuasives,  are  commonly  drawn.  The  useful, 
the  honourable,  the  equitable,  are  considerations  entirely  well 
adapted  to  each.  To  the  first  and  fourth  kinds  of  sermons  men- 
tioned, there  is  not  found  any  thing  in  the  institutes  of  rhetoricians 
which  can  be  denominated  analogous.  The  first,  the  explanatory, 
is  indeed,  of  all  kinds,  the  simplest,  and  may  in  respect  of  form  be 
considered,  as  bearing  a  resemblance  to  the  lessons  delivered  in 
the  schools  of  the  philosophers,  in  regard  to  which,  no  person,  as 
far  as  I  know,  has  thought  it  necessary  to  lay  down  rules.  The 
fourth  kind,  the  pathetic,  hath  in  point  of  aim  more  similarity  to 
the  eloquence  of  the  theatre,  tragedy  in  particular,  than  to  that 
either  of  the  bar  or  of  the  senate.  But  the  difference  in  form  aris- 
ing from  the  nature  of  the  work,  between  all  dramatic  compositions, 
and  the  discourses  prepared  for  the  pulpit,  is  so  extremely  great, 
that  I  have  not  judged  it  necessary  hitherto  so  much  as  to  name 
tliis  species  of  oratory. 

And  as  probably  I  shall  not  have  occasion  in  these  prelections  to 
mention  it  hereafter,  I  shall  now  take  the  liberty  to  give  you  brief- 
ly, in  passing,  my  sentiments  concerning  theatrical  performances, 
and  the  use  which  may  be  made  of  them  by  the  Christian  orator. 
As  to  the  drama  in  general,  it  is  manifestly  no  more  than  a  partic- 
ular form,  in  which  a  tale  or  fable  is  exhibited  ;  and  if  the  tale  it- 
self be  moral  and  instructive,  it  would  require  no  small  degree  of 
fanatacism  to  make  one  think,  that  its  being  digested  into  so  many 
dialogues,  and  dressed  up  in  the  dramatic  form,  can  render  it  im- 
moral and  pernicious.  So  much  for  the  question  of  right,  as  I  may 
call  it.  If  from  this,  we  proceed  to  a  question  of  fact,  to  which  the 
other  very  naturally  gives  occasion,  and  inquire,  whether  the  great- 
er number  of  modern  plays,  be  such  tales  as  we  can  really  denom- 
inate moral  and  instructive,  or  on  the  contrary,  such  as  have  a  ten- 
dency to  vitiate  the  principles  and  debauch  the  practice  of  the  spec- 
tators ;  to  this  point,!  acknowledge,  it  is  more  difficult  to  give  a  satis- 
factory answer.  I  own,  indeed,  that  in  my  judgment  the  far  greater 
part  of  our  comedies,  I  say  not  all,  merit  the  latter  character,  rath- 
er than  the  former.  For  not  to  mention  the  gross  indecencies  with 
which  many  of  them  abound,  (and  to  the  reproach  of  our  national 
taste,  as  well  as  morals,  English  comedy  perhaps  more  than  any 
other)  what  is  generally  the  hero  of  the  piece,  but  a  professed  rake 
or  libertine,  who  is  a  man  of  more  spirit,  forsooth,  than  to  be  check- 


138  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

ed  in  his  pursuits  by  the  restraints  of  religion,  the  dictates  of  con- 
science, the  laws  of  society,  or  (which  were  accounted  sacred  even 
among  pagans  and  barbarians)  by  the  rights  of  hospitality  and  of 
private  friendship  ?  Such  a  one,  the  poet,  in  order  to  recommend 
him  to  the  special  favour  of  the  audience,  adorns  with  all  the  wit 
and  humour  and  other  talents,  of  which  he  himself  is  master,  and 
always  crowns  with  success  in  the  end.  Hence  it  is,  that  the  stage 
with  us  may,  without  any  hyperbole,  be  defined,  the  school  of  gal- 
lantry and  intrigue ;  in  other  words,  the  school  of  dissoluteness. 
Here  the  youth  of  both  sexes  may  learn  to  get  rid  of  that  trouble- 
some companion  Modesty,  intended  by  Providence  as  a  guard  to 
virtue,  and  a  check  against  licentiousness.  Here  vice  may  soon 
provide  herself  in  a  proper  stock  of  effrontery  for  effectuating  her 
designs,  and  triumphing  over  innocence.  But  besides  the  evil  that 
too  commonly  results  from  the  nature  and  conduct  of  the  fable, 
there  is  another,  in  the  tendency  to  dissipation  and  idleness,  the 
great  enemies  of  sobriety,  industry  and  reflection,  which  theatrical 
amusements  ordinarily  give  to  the  younger  part  of  the  spectators. 
On  the  other  hand,  are  there  no  advantages  which  may  serve  as  a 
counterbalance  to  these  evils  ?  There  are  some  advantages ;  it 
would  not  be  candid  to  dissemble  them,  but  they  can  be  no  coun- 
terbalance. What  is  just  pronunciation,  easy  motion,  and  graceful 
action,  compared  with  virtue  ?  Those  accomplishments  are  mere- 
ly superficial,  an  external  polish  ;  this  is  internal  and  essential. 
But  at  the  same  time  that  we  acknowledge,  that  the  manner  and 
pronunciation  of  the  orator  may  be  improved  by  that  of  the  actor, 
we  must  also  admit,  on  the  other  side,  that  by  the  same  means  it 
may  be  injured.  And  I  have  known  it,  in  fact,  injured  in  conse- 
quence of  too  servile  an  imitation  of  the  stage.  I  allow,  that  what 
hath  been  advanced  regards  only  the  modern  English  comedy, 
for,  though  some  of  our  tragedies  are 'also  exceptionable  in  point  of 
morals,  yet  they  are  comparatively  but  a  few,  and  those  by 
no  means  faulty  in  the  same  way,  and  much  less  to  the  same 
degree.  And  as  I  would  with  equal  freedom  approve,  and  even 
recommend  what  I  think  laudable  and  useful,  as  I  would  censure 
what  I  think  blameable  and  hurtful,  I  cannot  deny,  but  that 
both  in  regard  to  the  sentiments,  and  in  the  wonderful  talent 
of  operating  on  the  passions,  the  tragic  poet  will  often  give  impor- 
tant lessons  to  the  preacher.  I  would  be  far  then  from  dissuading 
you  from  consulting  occasionally  whatever  may  contribute  to  your 
improvement.     Our  great  apostle,  as  we  learn  from  his  history  and 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  139 

epistles,  did  not  scruple  to  read  the  dramatic  pieces  of  heathen  po- 
ets ;  nay,  he  has  even  thought  fit  sometimes  to  quote  their  senti- 
ments with  approbation,  and  to  give  their  very  words  the  sanction  of 
sacred  writ.  Where  debates  arise  on  any  subject,  it  is  almost  invari- 
ably the  case,  that  both  sides  run  to  extremes,  alike  deserting  truth 
and  moderation.  It  is  the  part  of  a  wise  man,  like  the  bee,  to  ex- 
tract from  every  thing  what  is  good  and  salutary ;  and  to  guard 
against  whatever  is  of  a  contrary  quality.  But  I  am  aware  that  the 
most  of  what  I  have  said  on  this  subject  may  be  looked  on  as  a  di- 
gression. 1  acknowledge,  it  in  a  great  measure  is  so;  but  as  the 
mention  of  it  was  perfectly  apposite,  and  as  few  topics  have  occasion- 
ed warmer  disputes  among  Christians,  I  did  not  think  it  suited  that 
decorum  of  character,  which  I  would  wish  always  to  preserve,  to  ap- 
pear artfully,  when  a  fair  opportunity  offers,  to  avoid  telling  freely 
my  opinion. 


LECTURE  VI. 

On  the  Composition  of  Lectures. 

In  my  last  lecture  on  the  subject  of  pulpit  eloquence  I  told  you, 
that  every  discourse  was  addressed  either  to  the  understanding  of 
the  hearers,  to  their  imagination,  to  their  passions,  or  to  their  will. 
As  those  addressed  to  the  understanding  may  be  intended  either 
for  explaining  something  unknown  to  them,  or  for  proving  some- 
thing disbelieved  or  doubted  by  them,  sermons  in  the  largest  accep- 
tation of  the  word  may  be  distributed  into  five  classes,  the  explana- 
tory, the  argumentative  or  controversial,  the  demonstrative  or  com- 
mendatory, the  pathetic,  and  the  persuasive.  It  will  not  be  amiss 
here,  in  order  to  prevent  mistakes,  to  take  notice  of  the  particular 
import  which  I  mean  to  give  to  some  terms,  as  often  as  1  employ 
them  on  this  subject.  The  first  I  shall  mention  is  the  term  dem- 
onstrative^ which  in  the  application  usual  with  rhetoricians,  hath 
no  relation  to  the  sense  of  the  word  as  used  by  mathematicians. 
Here  it  hath  no  concern  with  proof  or  argument  of  any  kind,  but 
relates  solely  to  the  strength  and  distinctness  with  which  an  object 
is  exhibited,  so  as  to  render  the  conceptions  of  the  imagination  al- 
most equal  in  vivacity  and  vigour  with  the  perceptions  of  sense. 
This  is  entirely  agreeable  to  the  use,  both  of  the  Latin  word  dem" 


140  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

onstrativus,  and  of  tbo  Greek  aTrohiKriKog  among  critics,  orators 
and  poets.  Another  difference  I  beg  you  will  remark,  is  between 
conviction  and  persuasion,  which,  in  common  language,  are  fre- 
quently confounded.  To  speculative  truth,  the  term,  conviction, 
only  with  its  conjugates,  ought  to  be  applied.  Thus  we  say  prop- 
erly, I  am  convinced  of  the  being  of  a  God.  In  popular  language, 
we  should  sometimes  in  this  case  say  persuaded,  but  this  applica- 
tion of  the  term  is  evidently  inaccurate.  Thus  also,  he  hath  prov- 
ed the  truth  of  revelation  to  my  full  conviction,  or,  I  attempted  to 
convince  him  of  his  error.  And  even  in  regard  to  moral  truth, 
when  no  more  is  denoted  but  the  assent  of  the  understanding,  the 
proper  term  is  to  convince.  I  am  convinced  it  is  my  duty,  yet  I 
cannot  prevail  on  myself  to  do  it.  This  is  well  illustrated  by  that 
of  the  poet, 

Video  melioraproboque, 
Deteriora  sequor.* 

I  am  convinced,  but  not  persuaded  :  My  understanding  is  subdued, 
but  not  my  will :  the  first  term  always  and  solelyrelates  to  opinion, 
the  second  to  practice.  The  operation  of  conviction  is  merely  on 
the  understanding,  that  of  persuasion,  is  on  the  will  and  resolution. 
Indeed  the  Latin  word  persuadeo  is  susceptible  of  precisely  the 
same  ambiguity  with  the  English.  It  is  this  double  meaning 
which  gave  occasion  to  that  play  upon  the  word  used  by  Augustine, 
when  he  said,  "  Non  persuadebis,  etiamsi  persuaseris."  The  im- 
port of  which  in  plain  English  manifestly  is.  Though  your  argu- 
ments may  convince  my  reason,  they  shall  not  determine  my  resolu- 
tion :  Or,  you  may  convince,  but  shall  not  persuade  me.  The 
first  of  the  distinctions  now  mentioned  will  serve  to  discriminate  the 
argumentative  or  controversial,  from  the  demonstrative  or  com- 
mendatory, the  other  distinguishes  the  controversial  from  the  per- 
suasive. 

I  would  further  observe,  that  [though  any  one  discourse  admits 
only  one  of  the  ends  above  enumerated  as  the  principal,  neverthe- 
less in  the  progress  of  a  discourse,  many  things  may  be  advanced, 
which  are  more  immediately  and  apparently  directed  to  some  of 
the  other  ends  of  speaking.  But  then  it  ought  always  to  appear, 
that  such  ends  are  introduced  as  means,  and  rendered  conducive  to 
that  which  is  the  primary  intention.     Accordingly  the  propriety  ol 

*  I  see  the  right,  and  I  approve  it  tco, 
1  hate  the  wrong,  and  yet  the  wrong  pursue. 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTUKES.  141 

these  secondary  ends  will  always  be  inferred  from  Iheir  subserviency 
to  the  principal  design.  For  example,  a  sermon  of  the  first  or  sec- 
ond kind,  the  explanatory  or  the  controversial,  addressed  to  the  un- 
derstanding and  calculated  to  illustrate  or  evince  some  point  of 
doctrine,  may  borrow  aid  from  the  imagination,  and  admit  metaphor 
and  comparison.  But  not  the  bolder  and  more  striking  figures,  as 
that  called  phantasia,  prosopopeia,  and  the  like,  which  are  not  so 
much  intended  to  throw  light  on  a  subject  as  to  excite  admiration  ; 
much  less  will  it  admit  an  address  to  the  passions,  which  never 
fails  to  disturb  the  operation  of  the  intellectual  faculty.  Either  of 
these,  it  is  obvious,  far  from  being  subservient  to  the  main  design, 
simple  explanation  or  proof,  would  distract  the  attention  from  it. 
Such  arts,  however,  I  cannot  call  them  legitimate,  have  sometimes 
been  successfully  used  ;  but  in  such  cases,  if  impartially  examined, 
the  scope  of  the  speaker  will  be  found  to  have  been  more  to  cloud 
than  to  enlighten  the  understandings  of  his  hearers,  and  to  de- 
ceive rather  than  to  edify.  They  are  of  those  unlucky  arts,  which 
are  naturally  fitted  more  for  serving  a  bad  cause,  than  a  good  one, 
and  by  consequence,  when  used  in  a  good  cause,  rather  hurt  it  wfth 
the  judicious,  by  rendering  it  suspected. 

Now  before  I  proceed  to  consider  the  rules  which  ought  to  be 
observed  in  these  different  sorts  of  composition  resulting  from  their 
respective  natures,  I  shall  make  a  few  remarks  on  a  kind  of  dis- 
courses very  common  in  this  country,  which  come  not  under  the 
general  name  of  sermons,  and  follow  rules  peculiar  to  themselves. 
As  the  Bible  is  with  us  Protestants  acknowledged  to  be  the  reposi- 
tory, and  indeed  the  only  original,  full,  and  untainted  repository  of 
Christian  knowledge  ;  and  as  the  study  of  it  is  maintained  to  be  a 
duty  incumbent  on  every  disciple  of  Christ,  that  kind  of  discourses 
with  us  commonly  called  lectures,  have  been  devised  as  means  of 
facilitating  to  the  people  the  profitable  reading  of  holy  writ.  We 
acknowledge,  indeed,  that  in  all  things  essential  to  salvation,  scrip- 
ture is  sufficiently  perspicuous  even  to  the  vulgar  ;  and  that,  in 
such  important  matters,  if  any  man  err,  it  will  be  found  more  the 
fault  of  the  heart  than  of  the  head.  But  this  acknowledgment  is 
nowise  inconsistent  with  the  avowal,  that  there  are  in  this  reposito- 
ry many  things  highly  useful  and  instructive,  which  do  not  imme- 
diately appear  upon  the  surface,  which  require  more  time  and  ap- 
plication to  enable  us  to  discover,  and  in  which  in  particular  it  is  the 
province  of  the  pastor  to  lend  his  assistance  to  the  illiterate  and  the 
18 


142  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

weak.  That  people  may  be  put  in  a  capacity  of  reading  with  judg- 
ment and  without  difficulty,  those  parts  of  scripture  which  are 
most  closely  connected  with  the  Christian  faith  and  practice,  lee- 
turing,  or  as  it  is  called  in  some  places  expoundings  hath  been  first 
prescribed  by  our  church  rulers.  The  end  or  design  of  a  lecture, 
therefore,  is  to  explain  the  train  of  reasoning  contained,  or  the  se- 
ries of  events  related,  in  a  certain  portion  of  the  sacred  text,  and  to 
make  suitable  observations  from  it,  in  regard  either  to  the  doctrines, 
or  to  the  duties  of  our  religion.  As  all  discourses  of  this  kind  con- 
sist of  two  principal  parts,  the  explication,  and  the  remarks  or  in- 
ferences, so  they  may  be  distributed  into  two  classes,  according  as 
the  one  or  the  other  constitutes  the  principal  object  of  the  expoun- 
der. In  discourses  of  the  first  class,  it  is  the  chief  design  of  the 
speaker  to  explain  the  import  of  a  portion  of  scripture,  which  may 
not  be  perfectly  clear  to  Christians  of  all  denominations.  In  the 
second,  it  is  his  great  scope  to  deduce  from  a  passage,  whose  gen- 
eral or  literal  meaning  is  sufficiently  perspicuous,  useful  reflections 
concerning  providence,  the  economy  of  grace,  or  the  conduct  of  hu- 
man life.  Were  we  nicely  to  distinguish  the  two  kinds,  I  should 
say  that  the  ultimate  end  of  the  former  is  to  teach  the  people  to 
read  the  scriptures  with  understanding,  and  of  the  latter  to  accustom 
them  to  read  them  with  reflection.  The  former  therefore  may  more 
properly  (according  to  the  current  import  of  the  words)  be  termed  an 
exposition,  and  the  latter  a  lecture.  And  in  this  manner  we  shall 
afterwards  distinguish  them.  Both  are  properly  of  the  explanato- 
ry kind,  though  from  the  complex  nature  of  the  subject,  the  form  of 
composition  will  be  very  different  from  that  of  the  first  class  of  ser- 
mons mentioned  above.  Indeed  several  English  sermons,  for  in- 
stance those  on  the  compassionate  Samaritan,  the  prodigal  son,  or 
any  other  of  our  Lord's  parables,  may  strictly  be  denominated  lec- 
tures in  the  sense  to  which  we  just  now  appropriated  the  term. 
And  of  this  sort  also  are  several  of  the  homilies  of  the  ancient 
fathers.  Nay  there  are  some  discourses,  that  go  under  the  gen- 
eral appellation  of  sermons,  particularly  of  Bishop  Hoadley  and  Doc- 
tor Clarke,  that  properly  belong  to  that  class  we  distinguished  by 
the  name  exposition,  being  no  other  than  a  sort  of  familiar  com- 
mentary on  some  of  the  most  difficult  passages  in  the  epistolary 
writings  of  the  apostle  Paul.  They  differ  from  us  in  Scotland,  only 
in  the  manner  in  which  the  explication  is  introduced  from  the  pul- 
pit. We  take  the  whole  portion  of  scripture  for  a  text ;  they,  com- 
monly a  single  verse  in  the  end  of  it,  by  means  of  which  all  the 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  143 

other  verses- as  connected,  are  more  awkwardly  ushered  into  the 
discourse;  for  as  all  these  share,  equally  in  the  explication,  so  in 
most  cases  the  remarks  bear  no  more  relation  to  the  text,  than  to 
any  other  sentence  in  the  context.  The  relation  is  commonly  to 
the  whole  taken  together,  and  not  to  a  part  considered  separately. 
That  it  may  not  be  necessary  to  return  afterwards  to  the  considera- 
tion of  these  two  classes  of  discourses,  which  I  denominate  exposi- 
tions  and  lectures,  I  shall  now  make  a  few  observations  in  regard 
to  their  composition,  and  so  dismiss  this  article. 

And  first,  as  to  the  subject  to  be  chosen,  care  should  be  taken, 
that  as  much  as  posible  it  may  be  owe,  that  is,  one  distinct  passage 
of  history,  (if  taken  from  any  of  the  historical  .books  of  scripture) 
one  parable,  one  similitude,  one  chain  of  reasoning,  or  the  illustra- 
tion of  one  point  of  doctrine  or  of  duty.  When  a  minister  pur- 
poses in  a  course  of  teaching  to  give  the  exposition  of  a  whole  book 
of  scripture,  it  is  of  much  greater  moment,  and  unspeakably  more 
conducive  to  the  edification  of  the  hearers,  that  in  the  distribution 
of  the  parts,  more  regard  be  had  to  the  natural  connection,  that 
may  subsist  between  the  sentiments,  than  to  the  artificial  division 
of  the  words  into  chapters  and  verses.  For  it  is  manifest,  that  in 
making  this  distribution  of  the  sacred  books,  which  by  the  way  is 
an  invention  merely  human  and  not  very  ancient,  there  hath  often 
been  very  little  attention  given  to  the  sense.  You  will  easily  con* 
ceive,  that  it  must  be  still  a  greater  fault  in  expounding,  to  confine 
one's  self  regularly,  as  some  do,  to  the  same  or  nearly  the  same 
number  of  verses.  Nothing  can  tend  more  effectually  to  injure  the 
sense,  and  to  darken  (instead  of  enlightening)  the  subject.  Noth- 
ing would  less  fall  under  the  description,  which  the  apostle  gives  of 
the  manner  of  the  workman  that  hath  no  reason  to  be  ashamed, 
"  his  rightly  dividing  the  word  of  truth."  To  merit  this  praise,  one 
must,  like  a  skilful  anatomist,  chiefly  attend,  in  the  division,  to  the 
distinctive  characters  and  limits,  which  nature  hath  assigned 
to  the  several  parts ;  and  not,  like  a  carver  for  the  table,  merely  to 
the  size  and  form. 

The  second  remark  I  shall  make,  is  that  if  the  portion  of  scrip- 
ture be,  as  to  the  sense,  not  so  independent  of  the  words  immedi- 
ately preceding,  but  that  some  attention  to  these  will  throw  light 
upon  the  sacred  lesson,  the  preacher  may  very  properly  introduce 
himself  to  his  subject  by  pointing  out  in  a  few  \^ords  the  connection. 
There  are  cases  in  which  this  is  necessary  ;  there  are  in  which  we 
should  say  it  were  improper,  and  there  are  no  doubt  in  which  it  is 


144  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

discretionary.  Of  the  first  kind  are  many  passages  in  Paul's  epis- 
tles ;  for  though  perhaps  you  can  say  of  the  passage  with  strict  pro- 
priety, it  is  one,  because  it  is  only  one  topic  that  is  treated  in  it,  or 
at  least  the  argument  is  considered  in  one  particular  point  of  view, 
yet  it  makes,  as  it  were,  a  member  of  a  train  of  reasoning  which 
runs  through  several  chapters  ;  andof  this  series  it  may  be  requisite 
to  take  a  cursory  review,  in  order  to  obtain  a  more  distinct  appre- 
hension of  the  import  of  the  passage  read.  It  is  improper,  when 
there  is  no  connection  at  all  with  the  words  preceding,  as  in  the 
relation  given  us  of  several  of  the  miracles  performed  by  our  Lord, 
which  have  no  other  connection  in  the  hictory  than  that  the  one  in 
fact  preceded  the  other ;  or  it  may  be  only,  that  the  one  is  first  re- 
lated, and  the  other  immediately  after.  The  same  may  be  said  of 
several  of  the  parables.  Some  of  these  indeed  have  a  natural  con- 
nection with  a  preceding  passage,  having  been  pronounced  by  our 
Lord  in  the  illustration  of  some  point  which  he  had  been  just  incul- 
cating. In  such  cases,  when  the  design  of  the  parable  is  sufficient- 
ly clear  of  itself,  to  trace  the  connection  is  not  absolutely  necessary. 
As  good  use,  however,  may  be  made  of  it,  it  cannot  be  called  im- 
proper. This  therefore  is  an  example  of  those  cases  wherein  it  is 
discretionary.  There  are  several  other  instances  which  the  intelli- 
gent hearer  will  easily  distinguish  for  himself.  I  shall  mention  only 
one.  Were  it  the  design  of  a  preacher  to  expound  to  a  congrega- 
tion the  Lord's  prayer,  as  recorded  in  the  sixth  chapter  of  Matthew, 
he  may  justly  consider  it  as  a  matter  of  mere  choice,  whether  he 
shall  take  any  notice  of  the  words  preceding  or  of  the  subsequent, 
because  though  his  text  be  connected  with  both,  it  is  so  independ- 
ently intelligible,  and  so  completely  one  in  itself,  that  he  is 
under  no  necessity  to  recur  to  these  for  the  illustration  of  his 
subject. 

My  third  observation  shall  be,  that  his  exposition  of  the  portion  of 
scripture  read,  may  either  be,  verse  by  verse,  paragraph  by  para- 
graph, sentence  by  sentence,  where  there  is  any  obscurity  or  diffi- 
culty in  the  verse,  sentence  or  paragraph,  that  seems  to  require  it ; 
or  it  may  be,  by  a  kind  of  paraphrase  of  the  whole  passage.  I  have 
observed  already  that  there  are  two  kinds  of  discourses,  the  exposi- 
tion, and  the  lecture,  into  which  this  class  may  be  distributed;  the 
former  of  these  methods,  by  verses  or  sentences,  is  best  suited  to 
the  first,  the  latter  by  paraphrase,  to  the  second.  In  the  first,  there 
are  supposed  some  difficulties  to  be  removed  and  some  darkness  to 
be  dispelled ;  in  order  to  this,  more  minuteness  and  closer  attention 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  145 

to  the  several  parts  is  necessary.  In  the  second,  as  the  scope  of 
the  whole  passage  is  supposed  to  be  abundantly  perspicuous,  a  few 
pertinent  introductory  remarks  may  sometimes  happily  enough  su- 
persede the  necessity  even  of  a  paraphrase. 

The  fourth  observation  shall  be  in  relation  to  the  difficulties, 
which,  in  the  first  species  of  lectures  mentioned,  the  expounder 
must  endeavour  to  remove.  And  they  are  these — an  apparent  in- 
consistency between  the  import  of  any  verse  or  expression  and  the 
principles  of  right  reason,  or  a  seeming  contradiction  to  other  texts 
of  scripture,  or  to  any  known  historical  fact ;  in  like  manner  if  the 
words  taken  literally  seem  to  support  any  erroneous  opinion,  or  to 
authorize  any  improper  practice,  or  if  the  preacher  is  aware  that  it 
consists  with  the  knowledge  of  a  considerable  part  of  his  audience, 
that  such  uses  are  made  of  the  words  by  some  sect  or  party  still 
subsisting  amongst  us.  I  mention  these  things  with  the  greater 
caution,  because  if  the  difficulties  are  not  obvious  of  themselves,  or 
are  such  as  can  be  reasonably  thought  to  have  come  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  very  few,  if  any,  in  the  auditory,  it  is  much  better  they  re- 
main unnoticed  by  the  speaker,  lest  he  should  be  imagined  to  have 
more  the  talent  of  suggesting  scruples  and  raising  difficulties  than 
of  removing  them.  And  this  will  especially  hold,  in  regard  to  what 
hath  at  any  time  been  pleaded  in  favour  of  the  errors  of  ancient  or 
distant  sects,  of  which  the  congregation  knows  little  or  nothing,  and 
by  whose  arts  they  can  be  in  no  hazard  of  being  seduced.  If  the 
subjects  were,  for  example,  the  parable  of  the  supper,  in  the  14th 
chapter  of  Luke,  it  would  be  very  pertinent  to  show  that  the  ex- 
pression, "  Compel  them  to  come  in,"  which  occurs  in  that  passage, 
doth  not  authorize  persecutioQ  or  force  in  matters  of  religion  ;  be- 
cause it  is  notorious,  that  this  absurd  use  hath  been  and  still  is  made 
of  the  words.  But  if  the  portion  of  scripture  to  be  explained  were 
the  first  chapter  of  the  gospel  by  John,  to  what  Christian  congre- 
gation would  it  answer  any  valuable  purpose,  to  make  them  ac- 
quainted with  the  ravings  of  the  Gnostics  and  their  wild  extrava- 
gancies about  the  Eons  ? 

I  shall  add,  that  particular  care  ought  to  be  taken  in  expounding 
the  scriptures  to  the  people,  not  to  appear  over-learned  and  over-crit- 
ical in  one's  explications.  There  is  no  occasion  to  obtrude  on  an  au- 
dience, as  some  do,  all  the  jarring  interpretations  given  by  different 
commentators,  of  which  it  is  much  better  that  the  people  should 
remain  ignorant,  than  that  they  should  be  apprized.  For  this 
knowledge  can  serve   no  other  purpose,  than  to   distract  their 


146  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

thoughts  and  perplex  their  judgment.     Before   you  begin  to  build, 
it  is  necessary  to  remove  such  impediments,  as  lie  directly  in  your 
way  ;    but  you  could  not  account  him  other  than  a  very   foolish 
builder,    who   should   first    collect  a  deal  of  rubbish,  which  was 
not  in  his  way,  and  consequently  could  not  have  obstructed  his  work, 
that  he   might  have  the  pleasure  and  merit  of  removing  it.     And 
do  the   fantastic,   absurd  and  contradictory  glosses  of  commenta- 
tors  deserve  a  better   name  than   rubbish  1    No,  surely.     But  if 
such  absurd  glosses  are  unknown  to  your  congregation,  they  are 
rubbish  which  lies  not  in  your   way.     No  interpretation  therefore 
or  gloss  should   ever  be  mentioned  in  order  to  be  refuted,  unless 
it  be  such  as  the  words  themselves,  on  a  superficial  view,  might 
seem  to  countenance,  or  such  as  is  generally  known   to  the  people 
to  be   put  upon  them  by  some  interpreters,  or  sects  of  Christians. 
Where    a    false   gloss   cannot  be  reasonably  supposed  to  be  either 
known  or  thought  of  by  the   audience,  it  is  in  the   preacher  worse, 
than  being  idly  ostentatious  of  his  learning,  to  introduce    such  er- 
roneous gloss  or  comment.     And  as  to   an  excess  of  criticism   in 
this  exercise,  it  ought  also  doubtless  carefully  to  be  avoided.     We 
must  always  remember  the  difference  between  a  church  and  a  college. 
In  most  Christian  congregations  there  are  very  few,  if  any,  linguists. 
I  do  not  say  that  in   our  lectures  we   ought  never  to   mention  the 
original,  or  recur  to  it.    Justice  to  the  passage  we  explain  may  some- 
times require  it.     Nor  is  it  necessary,  that  our  translators  should  be 
deemed  infallible   even  by  the  multitude.     It  is  enough,  that    we 
consider  as  the  pure  dictates  of  the  Spirit  those    intimations   with 
which  the  prophets  and  apostles  were  inspired.     But  then,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  is  neither  modest  nor  prudent  in  the  preacher,  espe- 
cially if  a  young  man,  to  be  at  every  turn  censuring  the  translators, 
and   pretending  to  mend  their  version.     It  is    not  modest,  as  they, 
over  whom  the  corrector  assumes  a  superiority,   are  allowed  on  all 
hands  to  have  been  men  of  eminent  talents  and  erudition.     And  it 
is  not  prudent,  as  this  practice  never  fails  to  produce  in  the   minds 
of  the  people  a  want  of  confidence  in  their  Bible,  which  tends  great- 
ly to  lessen  its  authority.     Therefore,  though  I  am  by  no  means  for 
ascribing  infallibility  to  any   human  expositors,  propriety  requires, 
that  we  should  neither  too  often,  nor  too  abruptly  tax  with  blunder- 
ing, before   such   a   promiscuous   audience  as   our   congregations 
commonly  are,  men  of  so  respectable  memory.     Manly  freedom  of 
inquiry,  becoming  a  Protestant,  becoming  a  Briton,  tempered  with 
that  decent  reserve  which  suits  the  humble  Christian,  will  guard  the 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  147 

judicious  against  both  extremes,  an  overweaning  conceit  of  his  own 
abilities,  and  an  implicit  faith  in  those  of  others.  And  indeed  in 
regard  to  every  thing,  which  may  be  introduced  either  in  the  way 
of  criticism  or  comment,  it  ought  ever  to  be  remembered,  that  it  is 
not  enough^  that  such  an  observation  is  just,  that  such  an  interpre- 
tation hath  actually  been  given,  or  that  such  an  opinion  hath  been 
maintained  ;  the  previous  inquiry,  which  the  preacher  ought  to 
make  by  himself  is,  whether  it  be  of  any  consequence  to  the  people 
to  be  informed  of  the  observation,  comment,  or  opinion.  This  in- 
quiry impartially  made  will  prove  a  check  against  the  immoderate 
indulgence  of  what  is  perhaps  the  natural  bent  of  his  own  genius, 
whether  it  be  to  critical  or  controversial  disquisition,  and  which  it 
is  not  always  easy  for  youth,  commonly  impetuous  and  opinionative, 
duly  to  restrain.  If  on  other  occasions,  more  especially  on  this, 
the  apostolical  admonition  ought  to  be  sacredly  observed,  that 
"  nothing  proceed  out  of  the  speaker's  mouth,  but  that  which  is 
good  to  the  use  of  edifying,  that  it  may  minister  grace  to  the  hear- 
ers." But  for  our  direction  in  this  kind  of  discernment,  no  precepts, 
it  must  be  acknowledged,  will  suffice.  A  fund  of  good  sense  is  ab- 
solutely necessary,  enlightened  by  a  knowledge  of  mankind.  In 
this,  as  in  every  other  kind  of  composition,  the  maxim  of  the  poet 
invariably  holds, 

Scribendi  recte  sapere  est  principium  et  fons.* 

I  shall  just  add  the  fifth  and  last  observation  in  relation  to  the  re- 
marks or  inferences.  These,  as  was  hinted  already,  in  the  exposi- 
tion, whose  chief  aim  is  to  throw  light  on  the  sacred  text  and  re- 
move the  difficulties,  are  to  be  considered  as  only  a  subordinate 
part  of  the  discourse ;  in  the  lecture,  they  are  to  be  considered  as  the 
principal.  In  the  former  therefore  they  do  not  require  to  be  so  ful- 
ly treated,  as  in  the  latter.  It  is  enough,  that  the  remarks  are  just 
in  themselves,  pertinent  in  regard  to  the  subject  of  discourse,  and 
expressed  with  sufficient  perspicuity  and  energy.  But  in  the  lec- 
ture, properly  so  called,  where  the  observations  are  the  primary  ob- 
ject of  the  speaker,  and  that  for  which  the  passage  of  scripture 
was  chosen  as  a  text,  it  is  not  enough  that  they  be  just,  pertinent 
and  perspicuous  ;  they  require  besides,  to  be  more  copiously  treated, 
and  such  of  them  as  are  of  a  practical  nature  to  be  more  warmly  en- 
forced.    Nay,  they  admit  all  that  variety  in  respect  of  illustration, 

*  Good  sense  is  the  source  of  good  writing. 


148  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

proof,  and  recommendation,  which  are  to  found  in  discourses  ex- 
planatory, controversial,  or  persuasive.  Only  for  the  sake  of  unity, 
it  may  be  proper  to  add,  that  all  the  remarks  compared  among  them- 
selves should  be  congenial,  and  tend  to  illustrate  one  another,  that 
is,  all  doctrinal,  or  all  practical ;  and  whether  the  one,  or  the  other, 
that  they  be  points  nearly  and  mutually  related,  that  thus  the  dis- 
course may,  if  I  may  so  express  myself,  be  of  one  colour  and  tenour 
throughout,  duick  transitions  from  the  warmth  of  the  pathos,  to 
coldness  of  criticism,  from  the  moral  and  persuasive  to  the  abstract 
and  argumentative,  or  inversely,  from  the  critical  to  the  pathetic, 
and  from  the  abstract  to  the  persuasive,  are  neither  natural  nor 
easy.  Now  the  transitions  here,  if  there  be  any,  must  be  quick, 
even  immediate,  since  they  result  from  the  different  natures  of  the 
remarks  that  immediately  succeed  one  another.  In  the  first  kind, 
which  we  distinguished  by  the  name  exposition,  there  is  no  occa- 
sion for  so  much  delicacy  in  regard  to  the  inferences  deduced  ;  be- 
cause in  it,  they  being  only  of  a  secondary  nature  in  respect  to  the 
scope  of  the  performance,  particular  discussions  would  neither  be 
proper  nor  expected.  All  that  is  requisite  is  that  they  be  true,  fair- 
ly deduced,  and  properly  expressed.  Now  thus  much,  whatever  be 
the  nature  of  the  truths  remarked,  can  make  no  alteration  in  the 
character  of  the  performance.  In  this  species,  the  observations  are 
properly  no  more  than  inferences,  whose  evidence,  illustration,  or 
enforcement,  should  always  be  found  in  the  exposition  that  preceded 
them ;  whereas  in  the  lecture  properly  so  called,  though  the  con- 
nection of  the  remarks  with  the  portion  of  scripture  previously  and 
briefly  explained,  ought  to  be  very  clear,  they  are  introduced  with 
express  view  of  being  supported,  illustrated,  or  enforced  in  the  body 
of  the  discourse,  to  which  the  explication  of  the  text  serves  only  as 
an  introduction.  So  much  shall  serve  for  what  we  call  expositions 
or  lectures,  I  shall  next  proceed  to  the  different  sorts  of  sermons 
above  defined. 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  149 

LECTURE  VII. 

Of  Explanatory  Sermons — The  choice  of  a  Subject  and  of  Texts. 

In  my  last  prelection  on  the  subject  of  pulpit  eloquence,  after 
enumerating  the  different  sorts  of  discourses,  from  the  considera- 
tion of  the  faculty  addressed,  1  entered  particularly  into  the  exam- 
ination of  those,  which  with  us  are  commonly  called  lectures,  and 
which  we  divided  into  two  sorts,  one,  whose  principal  end  was  to 
remove  difficulties  in  a  passage  not  perfectly  clear  ;  the  other  whose 
aim  was  to  form  and  enforce  useful  observations  from  a  passage 
naturally  fitted  to  give  scope  for  reflection.  The  first,  we  called 
exposition;  the  second,  lecture.  I  now  return  to  the  consideration 
of  those  discourses,  which  come  under  the  general  denomination 
of  sermons,  and  which  were  distributed  into  five  orders,  the  explan- 
atory, the  controversial,  the  commendatory,  the  pathetic  and  the 
persuasive.  The  first  and  the  simplest  is  the  explanatory,  which 
may  be  defined  a  sermon  addressed  to  the  understanding  of  the 
hearers,  and  of  which  the  direct  view  is  to  explain  some  doctrine  of 
our  religion,  or  the  nature  and  extent  of  some  duty.  In  this  species 
of  discourses,  the  preacher's  antagonist  (if  I  may  so  express  myself) 
is  ignorance,  which  it  is  his  business  to  dispel. 

The  first  thing,  that  falls  under  consideration,  is  the  choice  of  a 
subject.  And  in  this,  care  ought  to  be  taken,  that  whether  it  be 
more  or  less  extensive,  it  may  be  strictly  and  properly  one,  that  it 
may  neither  be  imperfect,  and  consequently  afford  the  audience 
but  an  indistinct  apprehension  of  the  matter  discussed,  whether  it 
be  the  explication  of  a  tenet,  or  of  a  precept  of  Christianity  ;  nor  re- 
dundant, by  being  conjoined  with  other  points  or  topics,  which  how- 
ever useful  in  themselves,  are  neither  immediately  connected  with, 
nor  necessary  to  the  elucidation  of  what  is  properly  the  subject. 
The  rule  of  the  poet. 

Sit  quod  vis  simplex  duntaxat  et  unum.* 

will  be  found  a  good  rule,  not  only  in  epic  and  dramatic  poetry,  but 
in  every  kind  of  composition  without  exception.  The  reason  is, 
it  is  founded  in  nature,  and  what  is  adapted  to  the  faculties  of  a  be- 

*  Let  your  proposed  object  be  simple  and  one. 
19 


150  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

ing  such  as   man.     When   things  are  brought  together  into  a  dis- 
course,  between   which   there    is  no  immediate  connection,  that 
which  happens  to  be  last  said,  goes  far  to  obliterate  out  of  the  minds 
of  the  hearers  all  that  went  before.     There  being  no  natural  and 
manifest  relation  between  the  things  themselves,  and  no  dependence 
that  the  one  has  on  the  other,  the  last  mentioned  thought  or  topic 
doth  as  it  were  exclude  its  predecessor,  by  entirely  occupying  its 
place.     Whereas  in  clearing  up  the  several  parts  of  one  entire  sub- 
ject, whatever  it  be,  the  explication  of  every  other  branch   or  mem- 
ber, as  you  advance,  necessarily  tends,  by  the  laws  of  association  in 
our  ideas,  to  recal  to  our  reflections  the  account  given  of  those  that 
preceded,  with  which  its  several  parts  are  naturally  and  intimately 
connected.  That  we  may  form  some  idea  of  the  influence  of  connec- 
tion, simplicity  and  unity  upon  the  memory,  do  but  consider  the  ef- 
fect in  point  of  remembrance,  for  it  is  of  this  only  I  am  now  speak- 
ing, that  would  be  produced  upon  an  audience  by  one  of  our  Lord's 
parables,  for  example,  or  by  a  distinct  passage  of  his  history,  or  of 
that  of  the  apostles,  or  by  any  one  speech  of  Peter  or  Paul  recorded 
in  the    Acts,  and  compare  with  it  the  effect  that  will  be  produced 
by  reading  an  equal  portion  of  the  book  of  Proverbs,  or  of  the  1 19th 
psalm,  in  neither  of  which  was  there  any  connection  of  sentiments 
proposed,    the  greater  part  of  the  first   being  intended  merely  as  a 
collection  of  wise  observations,    but   independent  one  of  another, 
on  the  conduct  of  life  ;  and  the  other  as  a  collection  of  pious  ejac- 
ulations,   arranged,  not  by  affinity  in  the   sentiments,  but  by  the 
letters  in  the   Hebrew  alphabet   with  which   the  several  sentences 
begin.     But  what   is  necessary  to  constitute  this  unity  of  subject 
and  design,  we  shall   have  occasion  more  particularly  to  consider 
afterwards. 

A  subject  being  chosen,  the  next  thing  to  be  sought  is  the  text. 
This  seems  calculated  to  answer  a  double  purpose.  In  the  first 
place,  it  serves  as  a  motto  to  the  discourse,  notifying  to  the  con- 
gregation the  aim  and  subject  of  the  preacher;  secondly,  being  ta- 
ken from  sacred  writ,  it  adds  a  certain  dignity  and  importance  to 
the  subject,  shewing  that  it  hath  a  foundation  in  scripture,  the  only 
standard  of  our  religion.  It  may  not  be  amiss  here  to  examine  a 
little,  some  objections,  that  have  been  thrown  out  by  a  celebrated 
writer  of  the  present  century,  in  his  Age  of  Lewis  the  14th,  against 
this  method  so  universally  practised  by  preachers  of  introducing 
their  subject  to  the  hearers  by  a  text.  *'  Perhaps,"  says  he,  *'  it 
were  to  be  wished  that  in  banishing  from   the  pulpit  the  bad  taste 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  161 

which  dishonoured  it,  this  custom  of  preaching  on  a  text  had  also 
been  banished.  In  fact,  to  speak  long  on  a  quotation  of  a  line  or 
two,  to  labour  in  regulating  one's  whole  discourse  by  that  line, 
such  a  toil  appears  an  amusement  scarcely  becoming  the  dignity  of 
the  ministry.  The  text  proves  a  sort  of  device,  or  rather  riddle, 
which  the  discourse  unravels.  The  Greeks  and  the  Romans  never 
knew  this  usage.  It  was  in  the  decline  of  letters  that  it  began,  and 
time  hath  consecrated  it."  The  author  must  here  doubtless  be  un- 
derstood to  mean  by  Greeks  and  Romans,  those  nations  whilst  in  a 
state  of  paganism,  for  that  this  practice  was  current  among  the 
Greek  and  the  Latin  fathers  of  the  church  appears  manifestly  from 
such  of  their  works  as  are  yet  extant.  And  indeed  to  acquaint  us 
gravely,  and  urge  it  as  an  argument,  that  the  pagan  priests  never 
preached  upon  a  Ttext,  must  appear  extraordinary  to  one  who  at- 
tends to  this  small  circumstance,  that  they  never  preached  at  all, 
that  there  was  nothing  in  all  their  various  modes  of  superstition, 
which  was  analogous  to  what  is  called  preaching  among  Christians. 
And  even  if  there  had  been  any  thing  among  them  that  bore  an 
analogy  to  preaching,  their  example  could  not  have  had  the  least 
authority  with  us  in  this  particular,  as  it  is  notorious  they  had 
no  acknowledged  infallible  or  established  standard  of  doctrine  cor- 
responding to  our  Bible,  whence  their  texts  could  have  been  drawn. 
But  if  our  author  alludes  in  this,  not  to  the  customs  of  the  heathen 
priests,  but  to  those  of  the  demagogues  and  pleaders,  the  cases  are 
so  exceedingly  dissimilar,  that  hardly  can  any  comparison  with  pro- 
priety be  made  between  them,  or  any  inference  drawn,  from  the 
usage  of  the  one  to  what  is  proper  in  the  other.  If  indeed  we 
make  the  proper  allowances  for  the  disparity  in  the  cases,  the  ex- 
ample of  the  ancient  orators  will  be  found  rather  to  favour  than  to 
discountenance  the  practice  ;  because  though  they  had  nothing 
which  could  in  strict  propriety  be  called  a  text,  they  had  in  effect  a 
subject  propounded,  to  which  they  were  bound  in  speaking  to  con- 
fine themselves.  Thus  in  judiciary  or  forensic  harangues,  the 
summons  or  indictment  was  to  all  intents  a  text,  and  in  the  deliber- 
ative orations  pronounced  in  the  senate  house  or  in  the  assembly 
of  the  people,  the  overture  or  motion  which  gave  rise  to  the  debate 
answered  precisely  the  same  purpose.  At  least  one  of  the  designs 
above  mentioned,  which  the  text  with  us  is  calculated  to  answer, 
namely,  a  notification  to  the  hearers,  and  a  remembrancer  as  to  the 
subject  of  discourse,  was  fully  accomplished,  and  as  to  the  other 
end,   the  difference  in  the  nature  of  the  thing   superseded  the  use 


152  ,         CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES 

of  it.  The  only  species  of  discourses  with  them,  in  which  there 
was  nothing  that  bore  the  least  analogy  to  this  so  universal  usage 
among  Christian  teachers,  was  the  demonstrative,  or  their  eulogi- 
ums  on  the  dead.  And  here  doubtless  the  notoriety  of  the  occa- 
sion and  purpose  of  their  meeting,  which  was  commonly  at  funeral 
solemnities,  rendered  any  verbal  intimation  of  the  subject  less  ne- 
cessary, than  in  the  two  others  already  taken  notice  of.  It  may  in- 
deed be  urged  in  answer  to  what  hath  been  said,  that  the  preacher 
himself  may  intimate  his  subject  in  as  explicit  terms  as  he  pleases 
before  he  begin.  But  to  this  I  would  reply,  that  a  bare  intimation 
is  not  enough  in  a  matter  of  so  great  consequence,  that  the  effect 
of  the  whole  discourse  in  a  great  measure  depends  upon  the  atten- 
tion given  to  it.  Nothing  can  serve  better  to  fix  their  attention 
than  this  solemn  manner  of  ushering  in  the  discourse,  by  reading  a 
passage  of  sacred  writ,  in  which  every  person,  at  least  in  protestant 
congregations,  may  satisfy  himself  by  recurring  to  the  passage  men- 
tioned in  his  own  Bible  ;  at  the  same  time  nothing  can  serve  better 
as  a  monitor  of  the  speaker's  view,  if  the  text  hath  been  judiciously 
chosen,  and  the  sermon  be  apposite,  since  the  people,  if  they  please, 
may  have  it  constantly  in  their  eye.  I  acknowledge  at  the  same 
time  that  the  use  of  a  text,  as  either  a  device  or  an  enigma,  is  just- 
ly reprehensible,  and  that  the  conceited  choice  that  hath  been  made 
of  passages  of  holy  writ  for  this  purpose,  and  the  strange  man- 
ner wherein  such  passages  have  been  treated  in  the  sermon,  as 
when  the  words  and  phrases  are  more  properly  discoursed  on  than 
the  sentiment,  have  given  an  ample  scope  for  this  censure.  Only  it 
ought  to  be  remembered,  that  the  censure  strikes  solely  against 
the  abuse  of  this  method  of  notifying,  and  not  against  the  use  of  it. 
It  may  not  be  amiss  here  to  inquire  a  little  by  the  way  into  the 
origin  of  this  practice.  That  there  is  no  trace  of  it  in  the  ordinary 
discourses  of  our  Lord  and  his  apostles  is  freely  owned.  They 
spoke  by  immediate  inspiration.  They  gave,  by  the  miracles  they 
wrought,  the  most  authentic  evidences  of  the  authority,  with  which 
they  were  endowed.  It  did  not  suit  the  dignity  of  their  mission, 
or  of  the  spirit  by  which  they  spoke,  to  have  recourse  to  any  pas- 
sage as  giving  a  further  sanction  to  their  words,  or  as  setting 
bounds  to  what  they  should  declare.  Besides,  they  claimed  to  be 
the  heralds  of  a  new  revelation  from  heaven,  which  though  founded 
on  the  old,  superadded  a  great  deal  to  it.  After  their  time,  the 
doctrine  they  taught  having  been  committed  to  writing  in  the  his- 
tories of  our  Lord  and  his  apostles,  and  in  the  epistles  occasionally 
written  by  some  of  the  latter,  the  teachers  who  succeeded  them  did 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  153 

not  pretend  to  any  new  revelation,  but  to  deliver  faithfully  that,  and 
only  ihat,  which  they  had  received  from  their  inspired  predecessors. 
It  became  accordingly  an  importantpartof  their  public  ministry  and 
service,  to  read  certain  portions  from  the  writings  now  styled  canon- 
ical, as  being  the  great  rule  of  faith  and  practice  left  them  by  these 
founders  of  the  Christian  church.  The  usage  they  are  said  to  have 
borrowed  from  the  Jews,  who  since  their  return  from  the  Babylon- 
ished  captivity  duly  read  in  their  synagogues  every  Sabbath  portions 
of  the  law  and  of  the  prophets.  But  indeed  the  reason  of  the  thing 
so  strongly  indicates  the  propriety  of  the  practice,  that  there 
is  no  need  of  recurring  to  Jewish  example  for  its  origin. 
When  there  was  any  difficulty  in  the  passage  of  scripture  read, 
this  gave  a  natural  occasion  to  the  minister,  who  was  the 
teacher  of  the  congregation  in  matters  of  religion,  to  endeav- 
our to  remove  it ;  and  even  where  there  was  no  difficulty,  the 
words  would  often  furnish  a  handle  for  seasonable  exhortations 
and  admonitions.  Occasions  of  exhorting  the  people  in  this  way 
were  sometimes  taken  from  the  weekly  lessons  in  the  law  or  in  the 
prophets  in  the  Jewish  synagogues,  as  appears  occasionally  both 
from  our  Lord's  history  and  that  of  the  apostles.  (See  for  this  Luke 
iv.  16,  &LC.  Acts  xiii.  14,  &;C.)  Accordingly  it  appears  that  the 
earliest  discourses  from  the  pulpit  were  very  much  of  the  nature  of 
our  expositions  and  lectures,  and  that  the  subject  was  not  at  first 
arbitrarily  chosen  by  the  speaker,  but  such  as  came  in  course  of 
reading  the  scriptures.  It  will  easily  be  conceived  how  in  process 
of  time  the  pastors  did  not  always  think  it  necessary  to  confine  them- 
selves to  the  portion  of  reading  appointed  for  the  day,  especially,  as 
there  could  not  fail  to  arise  occasions  of  addressing  the  people  eith- 
er for  warning,  consolation  or  admonition  in  any  particular  emer- 
gency, to  which  other  passages  of  sacred  writ  would  be  more  di- 
rectly adapted.  It  may  also  be  supposed,  that  sometimes  in  their 
discourses  they  would  be  so  much  engrossed  by  one  principal  point 
they  then  wished  to  inculcate,  as  would  make  them  narrow  the  size 
of  their  compositions,  and  limit  themselves  in  using  no  more  from 
the  sacred  page,  than  was  entirely  apposite  to  their  subject.  A 
deference  however  to  antiquity,  a  veneration  for  the  scriptures,  an 
avowal  that  the  writings  of  the  prophets  and  apostles  were  the  only 
source  of  all  their  doctrine,  and  a  desire  of  supplying  the  people 
with  what  might  serve  as  a  remembrancer  of  the  subject  of  discourse, 
would  conspire  to  preserve  a  custom,  which,  though  not  absolutely 
necessary,  must  be  allowed  at  least  to  be  both  decent  and  conve- 
nient.   So  much  for  the  origin  and  history  of  this  usage  in  Christian 


154  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

congregations.  A  usage  which  in  my  opinion  ought  to  be  the  more 
sacredly  preserved,  as  it  may  be  justly  considered  as  an  ancient 
and  universal,  though  implicit  testimony,  that  no  doctrine  whatever 
deserves  to  be  considered  as  a  principle  of  Christianity,  which  hath 
not  its  foundation  in  holy  writ.  After  this  short  digression,  I  shall 
now  inquire  what  things  they  are,  which  particularly  demand  our 
attention  in  the  choice  of  a  text.  And  on  this  topic  I  shall  speak 
the  more  largely,  as  what  is  to  be  offered  on  it  will  not  regard  the 
explanatory  discourses  only,  but  all  the  different  sorts  of  sermons 
above  defined. 

And  first,  doubtless  the  passage  chosen  for  this  purpose  ought  to 
be  plain  and  perspicuous.  Without  this  quality  of  perspicuity, 
neither  of  the  ends  of  introducing  in  this  manner  the  subject  can 
be  answered  by  it.  If  obscure,  and  hardly  at  first  hearing  intelligi- 
ble, it  cannot  be  called  a  notification  of  the  subject ;  as  little  can  it 
give  the  sanction  of  holy  writ  to  a  subject  which  it  doth  not  notify. 
One  may  err  against  this  rule  in  more  ways  than  one.  First,  the 
passage  may  in  itself  be  obscure,  and  such  as  no  person  on  a  single 
reading,  not  to  say  the  illiterate,  can  be  supposed  to  divine  the  sense 
of.  Such  is  a  passage  from  Isaiah  (xxi.  11,  12)  on  which  I  once 
heard  a  sermon.  "  He  calleth  to  me  out  of  Seir,  Watchman,  what 
of  the  night?  Watchman,  what  of  the  night  r  The  watchman  said, 
the  morning  cometh,  and  also  the  night;  if  ye  will  inquire,  inquire 
ye  ;  return,  come."  Who  could  pretend  to  say  from  such  a  text 
what  the  subject  of  discourse  were  ?  But  there  are  some  people  of 
that  strange  turn  of  mind,  that  obscurity  itself  is  as  strong  a  recom- 
mendation to  them,  as  perspicuity  would  be  to  others.  Not  that 
they  are  influenced  in  this  by  the  sentiment  of  the  poet, 

Non  furnum  ex  fulgore,  sed  ex  fumo  dare  lucem  ;* 

for  commonly  there  is  to  the  full  as  little  light  in  the  performance, 
as  is  discernible  to  an  ordinary  understanding  in  the  text,  the  only 
circumstance  perhaps  in  which  the  choice  can  be  said  to  be  appo- 
site. The  real  motive  of  such  almost  invariably  is,  to  excite  in  the 
ignorant  multitude  an  admiration  of  their  profound  learning  and 
most  amazing  penetration,  who  can  discover  wonders,  where  other 
people  can  perceive  nothing  at  all.  Nor  do  they  in  this^  particular 
lose  their  aim.  But  this  is  one  of  the  many  little  arts  of  attracting 
the  veneration  of  the  populace,  which  is  totally  unworthy,  I  say  not 
of  the  Christian  pastor,  but  of  every  ingenuous  mind. 

*  Not  smoke  fi*om  light,  but  light  from  smoke  to  bring. 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  155 

But  further,  a  passage  of  scripture  considered  in  ifself,  and  its 
connection,  may  be  perfectly  perspicuous,  and  yet,  as  a  text,  may  be 
extremely  dark,  because  nothing  that  can  be  called  a  subject  of  dis- 
course is  suggested  by  it.  Thus  these  words,  "  A  bell  and  a  pom- 
egranate, and  a  bell  and  a  pomegranate,"  (Exod.  xxxix.  26,)  are 
sufficiently  intelligible  in  scripture,  as  expressing  certain  ornaments, 
with  which  alternately  the  border  of  the  pontifical  ephod  was  to  be 
decorated ;  but  there  is  not  one  of  a  thousand  who  would  conjecture 
what  the  design  of  the  preacher  were,  who  should  read  these  words 
to  his  congregation  for  a  text.  I  have  heard  of  a  declaimer,  one  of 
those  (and  there  are  several  such)  that  will  rather  take  the  most 
inconvenient  road  in  the  world,  than  keep  the  beaten  path,  who 
chose  the  words  above  quoted,  as  the  ground  of  a  discourse  on  this 
topic,  that  faith  and  holiness  in  the  Christian  life  do  ever  accompa- 
ny each  other.  It  would  not  be  easy  to  conceive  a  more  extrava- 
gant flight.  But  where,  you  say,  is  the  connection  in  the  subject  ? 
It  requires  but  a  small  share  of  fancy,  to  make  out  a  figurative  con- 
nection any  where.  Faith  cometh  by  hearing.  And  could  one  de- 
sire a  better  reason  for  making  the  bell,  which  is  sonorous,  an  em- 
blem of  faith  ?  Holiness  is  fruitful  in  good  works.  How  can  it  then  be 
better  represented  than  by  a  pomegranate  which  is  a  very  pleasant 
fruit  1  I  am  not  fond  of  conceits  in  any  serious  matter ;  they  have 
something  so  trivial  and  playful  in  them  ;  but  if  they  are  any 
where  specially  unsuitable,  it  is  in  the  pulpit.  I  remember  to  have 
seen  announced  in  the  news-papers  the  text  of  an  anniversary  ser- 
mon, the  nature  of  the  occasion  I  do  not  know.  The  text  was, 
(Jud.  iv.  20.)  "  Thou  shalt  say  no."  Here  nothing  can  be  clearer 
than  the  expression  or  verse,  as  indeed  the  whole  passage  is  to 
which  it  belongs  ;  yet  nothing  can  be  darker,  than  the  text,  as  it 
is  impossible  to  say  with  truth  that  it  suggests  any  subject  of  dis- 
course whatever.  I  will  add  further,  that  though  the  text,  when  in- 
terpreted agreeably  to  the  meaning  of  the  writer,  may  be  said  to 
suggest  the  subject  (which  cannot  be  said  of  any  of  those  above 
quoted)  yet  when  it  is  so  figuratively  expressed,  as  that  the  import 
of  it  is  not  sufficiently  obvious  to  the  bulk  of  a  congregation,  some 
more  explicit  proposition  ought  to  be  preferred.  This  observation 
is  not  to  be  understood  as  extending  to  those  figures  which  are  so 
current  in  scripture,  and  now  so  generally  understood  by  Christians 
of  all  denominations,  that  they  cannot  be  said  to  hurt  the  plainness 
of  the  passage  in  the  least.  Of  this  kind  are  the  putting  of  a  part 
of  religion,  as  the  love  of  God,  or  the  fear  of  God,  for  the  whole,  as- 


156  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

scribing  passions  and  bodily  members  to  the  Deity,  personifying 
wisdom  and  the  like,  or  those  ordinary  metaphors  whereby  a  reli- 
gious life  is  represented  by  a  race,  a  journey,  or  a  fight.  These 
cannot  be  said  to  give  the  least  obstruction  in  reading,  to  those  who 
are  but  a  very  little  acquainted  with  their  Bible.  In  like  manner 
in  the  choice  of  a  text,  I  should  think  it  proper  to  avoid  passages  in 
which  there  is  an  apparent  ambiguity.  For  though  the  context 
should  sufficiently  determine  the  sense,  yet  if  the  words  taken  sep- 
arately are  ambiguous,  they  do  not  distinctly  answer  the  purpose  of 
a  notification  of  the  speaker's  aim.  So  much  shall  serve  for  the 
first  article,  perspicuity. 

The  next  point  to  be  attended  to  is,  that  they  be  perti- 
nent. It  were  better  not  to  have  a  text,  than  one  that  would 
mislead  the  hearers  as  to  the  subject  of  discourse,  and  such 
would  be  the  case,  if  the  text  pointed  one  way  and  the  ser- 
mon another.  And  here  I  cannot  help  observing  the  fantastical 
choice,  that  hath  been  made  by  some  English  preachers  who  have 
purposely  chosen  such  passages  as  seemingly  contradict  what  they 
propose  as  the  scope  of  their  sermon.  Two  very  eminent  men  in  that 
church.  Doctor  Clarke  and  Bishop  Hoadly,  in  their  controversial  or 
argumentative  discourses  frequently  adopt  this  method.  The  latter, 
for  example,  to  a  sermon  whose  chief  design  is  to  show  the  absur- 
dity of  the  opinion  that  all  hope  of  pardon  is  cut  off  in  the  gospel 
from  Christians,  who  have  been  wilful  sinners,  hath  chosen  for  his 
text  Heb.  x.  26,  27.  "  If  we  sin  wilfully,  after  we  have  received 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  there  remaineth  no  more  sacrifice  for 
sin;  but  a  certain  fearful  looking  for  of  judgment,  and  fiery  indig- 
nation which  shall  devour  the  adversaries."  And  to  another,  which 
he  hath  titled,  the  Mistake  of  relying  on  Faith  considered,  he  hath 
prefixed  in  the  same  way,  Eph.  ii.  8,  "  By  grace  are  ye  saved 
through  faith."  I  do  not  here  enter  into  the  consideration  of  the 
justness  of  his  doctrine,  but  the  preposterousness  of  his  choice.  1 
know  his  reason  was,  thus  to  take  an  occasion  of  explaining  a  pas- 
sage, that  had  been  much  employed  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
controversy,  in  such  a  way  as  to  show  that  though  it  might  appar- 
ently, it  did  not  really  (when  properly  understood)  contradict  his 
desio-n.  But  this  plea,  unless  when  such  explication  is  made  the 
sole  end  of  the  discourse,  in  which  case  it  falls  under  that  species 
of  lecture  called  exposition,  whereof  we  have  given  some  account 
already,  otherwise,  1  say  this  plea  doth  by  no  means  vindicate  a 
choice  subversive  of  all  the   purposes  which  a  text  is  intended  to 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  157 

answer.  It  is  the  less  vindicable  as  it  is  perfectly  unnecessary* 
The  explication  of  a  passage  apparently  opposing  the  doctrine 
maintained  in  the  discourse,  it  would  be  much  more  pertinent  to 
introduce  and  obviate  in  answering  the  objections  and  arguments 
of  the  antagonists.  There  appears  in  both  these  authors,  and  in 
others  misled  by  their  example,  a  want  of  taste  in  this  particular,  how- 
ever great  their  talents  in  other  respects  may  have  been. 

The  third  quality  in  a  proper  text  is,  that  it  be  full;  that  is,  that 
it  be  expressive  not  of  a  part,  but  of  the  whole  scope  of  the  dis- 
course ;  otherwise  it  imperfectly  answers  both  the  ends  above 
mentioned  :  and  we  may  say,  with  justice,  that  part  of  the  sermon  is 
entirely  without  a  text. 

The  fourth  and  last  quality  is,  that  it  be  simple,  nowise  redun- 
dant, or  expressive  of  more  than  the  single  scope  of  the  sermon. 
An  instance  of  a  text  which  in  the  purport  of  it  is  properly  complex 
is  that  above  quoted,  Eph.  ii.  8.  ''  By  grace  ye  are  saved  through 
faith."  The  first  part,  **by  grace  ye  are  saved,"  is  a  full  and  per- 
fect text  for  the  discussion  of  one  point  of  doctrine,  which  is  to  show 
in  what  respect  the  source  of  our  salvation  is  divine  grace.  The 
other  part,  "  ye  are  saved  through  faith,  is  equally  perfect  for  the 
explication  of  another  point,  which  is  to  show,  in  what  respect  the 
instrument  of  our  salvation  is  faith.  Let  it  be  observed  here,  to 
prevent  mistakes,  that  a  sentence  may  be  grammatically  complex, 
which  is  nevertheless  simple  in  regard  to  the  sentiment  conveyed 
by  it,  and  therefore  sufficiently  proper  for  a  text.  Such  a  one  is 
that  in  Prov.  iii.  17.  "  Wisdom's  ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness, 
and  all  her  paths  are  peace."  And  even  that  last  quoted  from  the 
Hebrews,  though  consisting  of  two  long  verses,  is  perfectly  simple 
in  regard  to  the  sense. 

I  shall  make  two  other  observations  on  the  subject  of  texts,  and 
so  conclude  this  article.  One  is,  that  as  a  great  part  of  holy  writ  is 
historical,  wherein  things  are  simply  related  as  spoken,  without  any 
mark  of  approbation  or  blame  from  the  sacred  historian  ;  we  ought, 
when  we  can  be  otherwise  well  supplied,  to  avoid  such  places,  since 
passages  taken  thence,  though  recorded  in  scripture,  have  not  the 
stamp  of  revelation,  and  therefore  are  not  fitted  for  answering  the 
second  purpose  of  a  text  above  mentioned.  1  acknowledge,  how^ 
ever,  that  when  the  sentiment  in  itself  is  manifestly  agreeable  to  the 
dictates  of  natural  or  the  general  tenour  of  revealed  religion,  it 
would  be  an  excess  of  scrupulousness  to  reject  it.  Should  every 
20 


158  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

thing  (for  example)  said  by  Job's  three  friends  be  avoided,  because 
we  have  the  best  authority  to  affirm,  that  in  some  things  they  did  not 
speak  right  ?  or  should  even  all  that  Job  himself  said  be  set  aside, 
because  he  acknowledged  that  he  had  uttered  what  he  understood 
not,  things  too  wonderful  for  him  which  he  knew  not  1  In  all  such 
dubious  cases,  great  regard  is  to  be  had  to  the  character  of  the 
speaker,  the  occasion,  the  import,  and  the  design  of  the  speech. 
On  all  these  accounts,  it  was  a  most  absurd  choice  which  one  made 
of  a  text  for  a  sermon  on  the  future  glory  of  the  saints  in  heaven. 
This  sublime  doctrine  he  chose  to  treat  from  these  words  of  the 
serpent  to  our  first  mother  Eve,  Gen.  iii.  5.  **  Ye  shall  be  as  gods, 
knowing  good  and  evil."  For  though  the  words  taken  abstractly 
might  be  apposite  enough,  we  know  that  as  they  stand  in  scripture, 
they  have  no  relation  to  the  heavenly  happiness;  but  what  renders 
them  still  more  exceptionable,  as  a  text,  is,  they  are  the  words  of  the 
father  of  lies,  and  in  the  sense  in  which  he  used  them,  contain  a  lie, 
and  were  employed  but  too  successfully  for  the  purpose  of  seduction. 
The  only  other  observation  I  mean  to  make  is,  as  scripture  does 
not  consist  of  a  number  of  aphorisms,  it  will  sometimes  be  difficult, 
if  not  impossible,  to  find  texts  for  some  very  suitable  subjects,  con- 
formable to  all  the  rules  above  laid  down.  It  must  be  owned,  that 
in  such  cases,  it  is  far  better  to  deviate  from  these  rules,  than  to 
avoid  discussing  an  edifying  and  pertinent  subject.  All  that  can  be 
said  in  that  case  is,  that  if  the  rules  be  reasonable,  the  deviation 
ought  to  be  as  little  as  possible.  Nor  let  any  one  think  this  point  a 
matter  of  little  or  no  moment.  As  a  good  choice  may  contribute 
previously  to  rouse  attention,  and  even  to  put  the  hearers  in  a  proper 
frame  for  the  subject  to  be  discoursed  on,  as  well  as  to  keep  their 
minds  in  the  time  of  preaching  from  wandering  from  the  subject ; 
so,  on  the  contrary,  an  improper  choice  will  often  serve  to  dissipate 
the  thoughts,  and  put  the  mind  in  a  frame  nowise  suitable.  I  can 
say  for  myself  that  I  have  been  witness  to  instances  of  both  effects. 
I  have  observed  sometimes,  that  the  bare  reading  of  the  text  hath 
served  to  compose  the  minds  of  the  audience  into  an  earnest  and 
attentive  expectation  of  what  was  to  be  said.  I  have  seen  an  ill 
adapted  text,  on  the  contrary,  especially  when  there  was  any 
thing  fantastic  in  the  choice,  excite  a  very  different  emotion  in  the 
audience,  and  dispose  their  minds  not  to  be  edified,  but  amused. 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  159 


LECTURE  VIII. 

Of  the  Explanatory  Sermons— The  Introduction— Exposition  of  the  Text- 
Partition  of  the  Subject.  Unity  a  principal  requisite  in  the  Subject — How 
this  is  to  be  preserved — Offences  against  Unity. 

In  my  last  discourse  on  the  subject  of  Christian  eloquence,  I  en- 
tered on  the  consideration  ol  that  species  of  sermons,  which  we 
distinguished  by  the  name  of  explanatory,  whose  principal  intention 
is,  agreeably  to  the  name,  to  explain  the  import  of  any  doctrine  or 
the  extent  of  any  precept  of  our  religion.  And  first,  I  took 
occasion  to  inquire  into  the  origin  and  history  of  that  meth- 
od now  so  universal  in  Christendom,  of  introducing  our  sub- 
ject to  the  audience,  by  a  portion  of  sacred  writ,  called  a  text.  I 
inquired  into  the  principal  uses  which  a  text  is  intended  to  answer, 
and  from  this  was  naturally  led  to  deduce  the  rules,  whereby  we 
ought  to  be  directed  in  the  choice.  On  this  topic  I  was  the  more 
particular,  as  the  same  observations,  though  introduced  merely  in 
the  examination  of  one  species  of  discourses,  would  hold  equally 
with  regard  to  them  all.  I  shall  now  proceed  to  consider  the 
other  parts  of  the  explanatory  sermon. 

The  first  thing  here,  that  falls  under  review,  is  the  exordium  or 
introduction^  the  great  design  of  which  is  (agreeably  to  the  rules  of 
rhetoricians)  to  awaken  and  fix  the  attention  of  the  audience.  No- 
thing can  be  more  obvious,  than  that  if  the  hearers  will  not  attend, 
the  preacher  addresses  them  to  no  purpose,  his  speaking  is  no  bet- 
ter than  beating  the  air.  The  first  requisite,  therefore,  on  their 
part,  is  some  expectation  and  consequent  desire.  This  is  absolute- 
ly necessary  to  render  them  attentive.  A  certain  degree  of  curi- 
osity is  natural  in  an  auditory,  just  at  the  moment  that  a  speaker  is 
ready  to  open  his  mouth.  But  then  it  will  depend  very  much  on 
him,  either  to  work  up  this  favourable  inclination  in  people  into  a 
devout  and  even  anxious  attention,  or  to  extinguish  it  altogether, 
and  not  only  to  extinguish  it,  but  even  to  create  in  them  the  con- 
trary dispositions  of  weariness  and  disgust.  Such  topics,  therefore, 
as  manifestly  tend  to  conciliate  a  favourable  hearing  from  the  con- 
gregation, as  rouse  in  them  the  hope  of  something  momentous  or 
interesting,  are  especially  adapted  to  the  introductory  part  of  the 
discourse.  No  doubt  some  regard  must  be  had  to  this  end  through 
the  whole  of  the  performance.     But  it  is  the  direct  business  of  the 


160  CAMPBELLS  LECTURES. 

exordium,  to  inspire  a  disposition,  which  the  other  parts  of  the  ser- 
mon ought  to  preserve  from  expiring.  And  as  to  the  manner,  in 
which  this  purpose  may  be  best  effected,  it  is  evident,  that  the 
preacher's  topics  should  be  drawn  chiefly  or  solely  from  that  which 
is  to  be  the  subject  of  discourse.  The  church,  in  this  respect  more 
delicate  than  either  the  tribunal  or  the  senate,  doth  not  so  easily 
admit  the  urging  of  considerations  merely  personal,  for  winning  the 
affection  of  the  hearers.  The  venerable  aged  senator  may  not  un- 
gracefully preface  his  harangue  with  topics  taken  from  his  years, 
experience,  and  public  services.  The  hearers,  conscious  of  the 
truth,  will  think  him  well  entitled  to  avail  himself  of  such  a  plea; 
and  the  mention  of  these  particulars  will  serve  to  rouse  their  atten- 
tion and  regard.  It  is  only  in  extraordinary  circumstances,  that 
this  conduct  would  be  tolerable  in  the  preacher.  I  do  not  say  it 
never  would.  We  have  excellent  patterns  in  this  way  in  the  pro- 
phet Samuel,  and  in  the  apostle  Paul.  See  1  Sam.  xii.  1,  &-c. 
Acts  XX.  18,  &c.  The  young  barrister  will  sometimes,  just  in 
opening,  plead  successfully  for  some  indulgence  to  his  youth  and 
inexperience.  An  apology  of  this  kind,  if  gracefully  and  naturally 
expressed,  will  be  ascribed,  not  to  want  of  merit,  but  to  modesty,  a 
quality  very  engaging  especially  in  youth.  The  same  plea  would 
be  more  hazardous  from  the  pulpit,  and  therefore  can  rarely,  if  ev- 
er, be  attempted  there.  Any  view  that  seems  ultimately  to  point 
to  self,  any  thing  that  may  be  considered  as  either  directly  or  indi- 
rectly courting  popular  applause,  will  be  stigmatized  as  vanity,  a 
(Jisposition  which  will  meet  with  no  quarter  in  a  place  consecrated 
as  it  were  to  the  purposes  of  humbling  the  pride  of  man,  and  ad- 
vancing the  honour  of  his  Maker.  Passing  therefore  some  extra- 
ordinary cases,  the  only  topics  which  the  preacher  can  safely  make 
use  of  in  the  introduction,  for  gaining  the  devout  attention  of  the 
hearers,  ought  to  be  drawn  from  the  nature  of  the  subject  to  be  dis- 
cussed. And  these  are  various  in  different  subjects.  But  there  is 
no  subject,  with  which  our  religion  presents  us,  that  will  not  afford 
some  handle  by  which  it  may  be  recommended  to  the  favourable 
attention  of  the  hearers.  On  one  subject,  the  leading  principlefor 
rousing  our  attention  will  be  its  sublimity,  on  another  its  import 
tance,  on  a  third  perhaps  its  pleasantness,  and  on  a  fourth  its  novr 
©Ity.  Do  not  mistake  me.  I  by  no  means  intend  to  insinuate, 
that  any  tenet  or  precept  of  religion  can  be  strictly  called  new.  I 
Qi^ly  mean,  that  when  the  subject  of  discourse  rarely  receives  a  dis- 
cussion from  the  pulpit,  the  examination  of  i^  may  be  considered  as 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  161 

new  to  the  congregation ;  they  not  having  the  same  opportunity  of 
becoming  thoroughly  acquainted  with  it  as  with  some  other  topics, 
which,  if  more  momentous,  are  at  the  same  time  more  trite.  Per- 
haps the  subject  is  one  of  those,  against  which  we  are  sure,  from 
the  known  character  of  the  congregation,  there  are  certain  preju- 
dices. A  case  of  this  kind  requires  a  peculiar  delicacy.  A  mod- 
est attempt  to  remove  unfavourable  prepossessions  is  in  such  a 
case  extremely  proper  in  the  entry.  Butler's  sermon  on  the  Love 
of  God  affords  a  very  suitable  example  in  this  way.  It  deserves  al- 
so to  be  remarked,  that  a  preacher  ought  in  the  exordium  cautious- 
ly to  shun  being  so  particular  as  might  anticipate  what  should  be- 
advanced  afterwards  ;  that  he  ought  here  to  proceed  on  such  prin- 
ciples as  are* generally,  if  not  universally,  admitted  ;  such  as  ap- 
proved maxims,  incontestible  observations  ;  otherwise  its  obscurity 
will  rather  avert  than  attract  the  attention  of  the  audience.  And 
if  in  order  to  prevent  this  obscurity,  one  should  fall  into  a  train  of 
reasoning,  or  be  at  particular  pains  to  explain  and  illustrate  the 
principles  advanced,  it  is  manifest  this  conduct  would  convert  into- 
a  real  discourse,  what  ought  to  be  no  more  than  a  prelude  ;  it 
would  extend  the  introduction  to  an  undue  length,  and  so  far  from- 
answering  the  design  of  preparing  the  hearers  to  receive  with  atten- 
tion the  discussion  of  the  subject,  it  would  tend  to  make  them  lose 
sight  of  it  altogether,  by  engaging  them  deeply  in  different,  though 
related  questions.  In  regard  to  the  language  of  the  introduction, 
it  ought  to  be,  in  a  particular  manner,  perspicuous  and  distinct. 
There  is  rarely  scope  in  the  introductory  part  of  any  kind  of  ser- 
mons, and  much  less  in  that  of  an  explanatory  sermon,  for  rhetori- 
cal tropes  and  figures.  But  as  the  expression  should  be  plain  and 
clear,  the  sentiments  ought  to  be  striking  and  almost  self-evident. 

The  next  part  that  requires  to  be  considered,  after  the  exordium,, 
is  the  exposition  of  the  text.  And  here  it  ought  to  be  observed,, 
that  no  more  of  the  context  should  come  under  the  notice  of  the 
preacher,  than  what  may  serve  to  corroborate  or  illustrate  the 
thoughts  advanced  in  the  introduction,  or  what  may  be  of  use  for 
throwing  light  upon  the  text.  It  is  often  necessary  to  take  for 
texts,  passages  wherein  the  thing  spoken  of,  or  what  is  closely  con- 
nected with  it,  is  expressed  by  a  relative  pronoun,  in  which  there  is 
a  reference  to  what  immediately  preceded.  The  text  in  such 
cases  is  not  intelligible  but  as  it  stands  in  connection  with  the  fore- 
going words.  Such  a  text,  for  example,  would  be  that  in  Psalm  xix. 
11.     *^  In  keeping  of  them  there  is  great  reward,"  where  it  is  only 


162  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

from  the  context  you  can  learn  the  import  of  the  pronoun  them. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  the  possessive  his  in  the  following  pas- 
sage, which  may  be  used  as  a  text,  1  John  v.  3.  "  His  command- 
ments are  not  grievous."  But  when  the  text  itself  is  sufficiently 
perspicuous,  and  however  closely  connected,  independently  intelligi- 
ble, and  when  the  sentiments  of  the  context  do  not  happen  to  have 
any  coincidence  with  those  employed  by  the  preacher  for  intro- 
ducing his  subject,  it  is  by  no  means  necessary  to  take  any  notice 
of  the  context  at  all.  Nay,  it  often  proves  in  fact  rather  a  digres- 
sion from  the  subject,  than  a  constituent  part  of  the  discourse.  Im- 
memorial custom,  I  acknowledge,  hath  with  us  given  a  kind  of 
sanction  to  this  practice,  as  to  many  other  improper  ones ;  but  it 
belongs  to  judgment  and  taste,  to  distinguish  those  cases  wherein 
it  is  useful,  and  those  wherein  it  is  foreign  to  the  purpose.  And 
that  is  always  to  be  held  foreign,  which,  however  just  and  even  pro- 
fitable abstractly  considered,  nowise  contributes  to  promote  that 
which  is  the  ultimate  aim  of  the  discourse.  When  the  text,  as  in 
the  two  passages  last  mentioned,  has  a  reference  to  the  context, 
but  at  the  same  time  there  is  nothing  in  the  context,  which  is  not 
as  to  its  meaning  perfectly  obvious  to  an  ordinary  capacity,  it  will 
suffice  barely  to  repeat  such  of  the  preceding  verses  as  have  the 
most  immediate  connection  with  the  text.  Sometimes  indeed  it 
will  do  better  to  give  an  abstract  of  the  story  or  of  the  reasoning,  of 
which  the  text  is  a  part,  and  that,  without  particularizing  any  of 
the  passages.  But  in  the  election  to  be  made  out  of  these  different 
methods,  it  behoveth  us  of  necessity  to  leave  the  preacher  to  the 
guidance  of  his  own  judgment.  The  choice  depends  on  such  a  va- 
riety of  minute  circumstances  as  renders  it  insusceptible  of  rules. 
The  text  itself,  if  necessary,  may  be  explained,  either  by  a  para- 
phrase or  otherwise.  If  by  a  paraphrase,  it  should  be  simple  and 
brief,  and  no  more  in  effect  than  a  mere  explicit  declaration  of  the 
subject  of  discourse.  If  a  looser  method  of  expounding  the  pas- 
saore  is  preferred,  this  exposition  ought  to  terminate  in  a  sentence, 
distinctly  proposing  the  doctrine  or  duty  to  be  explained. 

The  next  thing  that  comes  to  be  considered  is  the  partition , 
or,  as  it  is  more  commonly  termed,  the  division  of  the  subject  into 
its  constituent  branches.  And  here  doubtless  the  logical  rules 
ought  to  be  inviolably  observed.  The  partition  ought  to  exhaust  the 
subject,  insomuch  that  no  part  be  left  uncomprehended,  and  it 
ought  to  extend  no  farther,  so  as  to  comprehend  any  thing  else. 
And  as  far  as  is  possible  in  a  consistency  with  these,  a  natural  sira- 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  163 

plicity  ought  to  be  studied  in  this  part  in  particular.  Nothing  ha- 
rasses the  memory  of  the  hearers,  more  than  a  multiplicity  of,  what 
is  called,  the  heads  or  chief  topics  of  discourse.  As  where  there  is 
any  partition  of  the  subject  they  cannot  be  fewer  than  two,  they  nev- 
er ought  to  exceed  four  or  five.  These  for  the  most  part  ought  in  ex- 
planatory discourses,  which  are  directed  solely  to  the  understanding, 
and  which  should  preserve  an  appearance  of  accuracy  and  precision 
throughout  the  whole,  to  be  very  explicitly  laid  before  the  hearers. 
As  an  instance  of  a  just  partition,  that  given  by  Dr.  Tillotson  of  the 
nature  and  extent  of  gospel  obedience,  may  serve  for  an  example. 
The  properties  of  such  an  obedience,  he  divides  into  these  three, 
sincerity,  universality  and  constancy.  This  division  is  taken  from 
the  essential  qualities  of  the  subject ;  it  may  sometimes  be  taken 
from  the  component  parts.  The  preacher's  design,  I  shall  suppose, 
is  to  explain  the  duty  of  prayer,  and  from  the  consideration  of  the 
constituent  members  of  his  subject,  he  divides  his  discourse  into 
three  heads  destined  severally  for  the  explanation  of  the  three  parts, 
confession,  petition  and  thanksgiving.  To  these  some  improperly 
add  a  fourth,  adoration^  I  say  improperly,  because  this,  so  far  from 
being  a  distinct  member,  is  necessarily  implied  in  each  of  the  others ; 
insomuch  that  none  of  them  can  be  explained  or  conceived  without  it. 
Each  implies  the  acknowledgment  of  the  superintendency  and  per- 
fections of  God,  and  of  our  own  dependency  and  obligations.  Such 
a  distribution,  therefore,  in  w'hich  adoration  were  made  a  separate 
member,  would  be  as  though  one  should  divide  an  animal  body  in- 
to these  four  parts,  the  head,  the  trunk,  the  limbs,  and  the  blood, 
which  last  is  manifestly  essential  to  all  the  parts,  and  does  not  con- 
stitute a  separate  branch  or  member,  as  it  pervades  the  whole  and 
every  part.  This  by  the  way  may  serve  as  a  specimen  o«f  a  faulty  di- 
vision. As  to  the  order,  in  which  the  different  branches  ought  to 
be  proposed  and  treated,  that  is  no  doubt  sometimes  discretionary, 
but  more  frequently  it  may  be  determined  by  something  in  the  na- 
ture of  the  subject.  That  which  is  simplest  and  plainest  ought 
generally  to  be  begun  with ;  and  from  this  we  ought  to  advance  to 
that  which  is  less  obvious  and  more  complex  ;  but  of  this  more  af- 
terwards. So  far  I  thought  it  proper  to  proceed  in  considering  the 
general  qualities,  which  affect  the  introduction,  the  exposition  of 
the  text  and  context,  where  an  exposition  of  either  or  both  is 
necessary,  and  the  propounding  of  the  subject  and  the  method. 

Before  we  proceed,  it  will  be  necessary  to  consider  a  little  more 
particularly,  in  what  manner  the  text  and  the   subject  ought  to  be 


164  CAMPBELL'S  LECTUKES. 

adapted  to  each  other.  And  here  the  first  thing  that  necessarily 
demands  our  attention  is,  that  the  text  ought  to  be  chosen  for  the 
subject,  and  not  the  subject  for  the  text.  Nor  will  this  observation 
be  found,  upon  inquiry,  of  so  little  moment  as  at  first  sight  it  may 
appear  to  be.  It  is  manifest  from  the  general  taste  and  manner 
that  has  hitherto  prevailed  in  preaching,  that  the  text,  rather  indeed 
the  words  of  a  certain  portion  of  scripture,  hath  been  the  primary 
consideration,  and  the  subject  at  best  but  a  secondary  one.  Or  if 
it  hath  happened,  that  the  subject  hath  been  first  thought  of  by  the 
speaker,  he  no  sooner  deviseth  a  text,  than  he  judges  it  necessary 
to  attach  to  his  principal  subject  certain  other  subordinate  one's, 
suggested  not  by  the  sentiment  conveyed,  but  by  the  expressions 
used  in  the  text.  The  consequence  is,  that  there  is  hardly  one  ser- 
mon in  a  hundred,  wherein  that  unity  of  design  is  observed,  which 
constitutes  one  great  excellence  in  every  composition.* 

I  mentioned  in  the  beginning  of  my  last  prelection,  that  the  first 
thing  that  falls  under  the  preacher's  consideration  is  the  subject. 
Unity  1  then  observed  was  a  principal  requisite  in  the  subject ;  but 
deferred  stating  the  precise  notion  of  it,  till  we  should  come  to  treatof 
that  part  of  the  discourse,  which  includes  the  declared  design  of  the 
performance  and  the  manner  in  which  it  is  proposed  to  prosecute 
it.  This  will  be  somewhat  different  in  the  different  kinds  of  ser- 
mons :  I  shall  consider  the  unity  of  each,  at  least  what  is  peculiar  in 
each,  in  the  explication  of  the  kind.  And  as  to  that  kind  of  which 
we  are  now  treating,  the  explanatory,  let  us  suppose  one  intending 
to  compose  a  sermon  in  this  way  hath  chosen  for  his  subject,  the 
doctrine  of  the  Divine  Omniscience.  After  searching  for  some 
time  for  a  proper  text,  I  suppose  he  determines  to  take  Heb.  iv.  13 ; 
which  though  complex   in  the  terms,    is  sufficiently  simple   in  the 

*  In  prescribing  tasks  for  trying  the  abilities  of  the  students  of  theology,  in 
instructing  and  persuading,  it  is  the  common  practice  to  assign  them  a  text  on 
which  to  prepare  a  sermon.  And  this  method  I  followed  for  some  time.  The 
consequence  I  found  to  be,  that  instead  of  one  subject  in  a  discourse  we  often 
heard  discussed  in  one  sermon  two  or  three  distinct  subjects.  I  have  therefore 
resolved  instead  of  a  text  to  prescribe  a  subject,  leaving  to  the  student  to  find 
out  a  proper  text  for  himself;  for  example,  some  doctrine  or  precept  of  the  gos- 
pel to  be  defined  and  illustrated  in  an  explanatory  sermon,  or  some  duty  to  be 
inculcated  or  evil  to  be  warned  against  in  a  suasory  discourse.  As  this  way  of 
prescribing  a  subject  gives  a  greater  probability  that  unity  and  simplicity  shall 
be  preserved  in  the  composition,  than  that  of  assigning  a  text,  and  as  the 
subject  ought  always  to  be  first  in  the  intention  of  the  composer,  I  have  thought 
this  method  upon  the  whole  greatly  preferable. 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  165 

sentiment.  The  words  are,  *'  Neither  is  there  any  creature  that  is 
not  manifest  in  his  sight :  but  all  things  are  naked  and  opened  un- 
to the  eyes  of  Him  with  whom  we  have  to  do."  It  is  a  thousand  to 
one  he  would  judge  it  no  other  than  a  piece  of  justice  to  his  text, 
to  discuss  a  number  of  adventitious  points,  which,  if  without  any 
text  he  had  been  required  to  explain  the  doctrine  of  the  omniscience, 
he  would  never  have  dreamt  to  have  any  connection  with  his  sub- 
ject. Such  as  these  for  instance,  to  consider  what  is  implied  in  the 
manifestation  of  a  creature,  or  in  its  being  naked  and  opened  ;  in 
what  respect  these  phrases  may  be  used  relatively,  so  that  a  crea- 
ture may  be  said  to  be  manifested,  naked  and  opened  to  the  eyes  of 
one,  which  is  nevertheless  undiscovered,  clothed  and  shut  to  the 
eyes  of  another :  again,  who  is  meant  by  the  apostle  in  that  expres- 
sion. Him  with  whom  we  have  to  do  ;  and  why  God  is  so  denomina- 
ted. Yet  will  any  one  say,  that  these  critical  inquiries,  (which  in 
a  critical  exercise  on  the  passage  would  be  very  proper,)  are  I  say 
not,  necessary,  but  any  wise  conducive  to  the  illustration  of  this 
simple  proposition,  God  knoweth  all  things?  And  if  so,  there  can 
be  no  unity  in  the  subject,  nor  simplicity  in  the  performance,  in 
which  things  so  diverse  are  jumbled  together.  The  only  connec- 
tion there  is  among  them  is  not  a  natural,  but  an  accidental,  con* 
nection  arising  merely  from  the  terms,  in  which  the  sentiment  is 
expressed.  Sometimes  it  is  necessary  to  recur  to  such  texts,  be- 
cause a  simpler  expression  of  the  sense,  though  more  eligible,  is 
not  to  be  found  in  the  words  of  scripture.  But  then  if  there  be 
any  difficulty,  it  is  sufficient  to  remove  it  by  the  way,  in  showing 
the  import  of  the  text,  or  in  a  brief  paraphrase  on  the  words,  or 
even  in  a  plain  synonymous  sentence.  It  must  ever  be  remember- 
ed, that  it  is  the  leading  sentiment  conveyed  in  the  text,  which  it 
is  the  preacher's  business  to  illustrate,  and  not  the  terms  or  phrases 
by  which  it  is  conveyed.  It  is  this  diffi^rence  that  makes  a  prin- 
cipal distinction  between  every  kind  of  sermons  whatever,  and  that 
species  of  lecture  which  we  called  exposition,  wherein  the  text  is 
itself  properly  the  subject,  and  not  to  be  considered  as  a  bare  ex- 
pression of  the  subject.  Now  it  is  this  false  taste  in  preaching 
which  hath  given  rise  to  the  censure  formerly  quoted  from  Voltaire, 
in  as  much  as  the  speaker  is  not  employed  in  the  discussion  of  any 
one  subject,  but  is,  as  it  were,  amusing  himself  and  his  hearers 
with  a  number  of  little  independent  dissertations  on  the  different 
words,  idioms  and  references  which  are  found  in  a  line  or  two 
21 


166  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

of  sacred  writ.  It  will  perhaps  be  urged,  that  there  are  few  pas 
sages,  which  from  the  turn  of  the  expression  would  lead  the  speak- 
er into  such  devious  tracts,  as  that  above  quoted  ;  but  in  reality, 
where  the  same  notion  prevails  in  regard  to  pulpit  composition, 
there  can  hardly  be  found  a  text  so  simple,  as  will  not  afford  some 
occasion  for  the  same  manner  of  treating  the  subject.  Let  us  sup- 
pose that  the  preacher's  subject  is  to  explain  this  doctrine  of  reve- 
lation, that  the  grace  of  God  is  the  genuine  source  of  man's  salva- 
tion, and  let  us  suppose  he  chooseth  for  his  text  Eph.  ii.  8.  "  By 
grace  are  ye  saved."  One  more  simple  or  more  apposite  is  not 
even  to  be  conceived.  Yet  the  most  general  and  approved 
way,  in  which,  in  many  places,  this  theme  at  present  would 
be  managed,  is  the  following.  First,  would  the  speaker  say,  I 
shall  explain  what  is  meant  by  grace  ;  secondly,  I  shall  show  what 
is  meant  by  salvation,  or  what  it  is  to  be  saved :  thirdly  and  lastly, 
the  relation  which  one  of  these  bears  to  the  other,  or  the  depen- 
dence of  the  latter  upon  the  former.  Methinks  I  hear  it  resound 
from  every  quarter,  could  there  be  a  juster  method,  or  one  that 
more  perfectly  exhausts  the  text  ?  No  indeed  if  we  are  barely  to 
regard  the  words  ;  in  which  case  it  may  be  said  to  be  three  texts 
more  properly  than  one.  My  intended  subject  was  only  one,  but 
here  we  have  no  less  than  three.  Ay  but,  say  you,  are  not  these 
three  so  intimately  connected,  that  the  one  cannot  be  perfectly  un- 
derstood without  the  other  ?  That  they  are  indeed  connected  is 
very  certain,  but  so  also  are  all  the  doctrines  and  precepts  of  our 
religion.  Is  it  therefore  impossible  to  explain  one  without  explain- 
ing them  all?  If  so,  every  sermon  ought  to  be  a  system,  both  of  the 
tenets  and  of  the  duties  of  Christianity.  And  as  the  Christian  sys- 
tem is  only  one,  in  this  way  there  should  be  no  more  but  one  ser- 
mon. And  as  strange  as  it  may  appear,  I  have  known  preachers, 
and  very  popular  preachers  too,  whom  I  have  heard  frequently,  and 
yet  can  say  with  truth,  I  never  heard  from  them  but  one  sermon. 
The  form,  the  mould  into  which  it  was  cast,  was  different  accord- 
ing to  the  different  texts,  but  the  matter  was  altogether  the  same. 
You  had  invariably  the  preacher's  whole  system,  original  sin,  the 
incarnation,  the  satisfaction,  election,  imputed  righteousness,  justi- 
fication by  faith,  sanctification  by  the  Spirit,  and  so  forth.  As  to 
the  practical  part,  including  the  duties  which  our  religion  requires, 
whether  it  was,  that  it  appeared  more  obvious  or  of  less  conse- 
quence, I  cannot  say,  but  it  was  very  rarely  and  very  slightly 
touched.  The  discourses  of  such  people  have  often  put  me  in 
mind  of  the  clay,  with  which  children  sometimes  divert  themselves. 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  167 

The  very  same  mass,  they  at  one  time  mould  into  the  figure  of 
a  man,  at  another,  into  that  of  a  beast,  at  a  third  into  the  shape  of 
a  bird,  and  at  a  fourth,  into  the  appearance  of  a  table  or  stool.  But 
you  are  sure  of  one  thing,  that  whatever  be  the  change  on  its  exter- 
nal form,  its  substance  is  unalterably  the  same.  Yet  these  people  ar- 
gue with  an  apparent  plausibility.  Such  a  one  explaining  the  character 
expressed  in  the  words  pure  in  hearty  tells  us  that  in  order  to  under- 
stand it  rightly  we  must  consider  it  in  its  source,  the  sanctifying  oper- 
ation of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  better  to  understand  this,  we  ought  to 
consider  our  previous  natural  corruption.  This  brings  us  directly  to 
original  sin,  which  makes  it  necessary  to  inquire  into  that  original 
righteousness  whereof  it  is  the  privation.  And  this  being  implied  in 
the  expression,  image  oj  God,  leads  us  to  the  examination  of  the  di- 
vine perfections.  These  again  are  best  illustrated  by  the  effects, 
the  works  of  creation  and  providence,  and  especially  the  work  of 
redemption.  This  method  of  arguing  puts  me  in  mind  of  a  story  told 
by  Alembert  in  an  essay  on  the  liberty  of  music.  *'  Dioptrics," 
said  a  certain  profound  philosophical  professor  to  his  pupils,  **  is 
the  science  which  teaches  us  the  use  of  spectacles  and  spy  glasses. 
Now  these  are  of  no  value  without  eyes  ;  the  eyes  are  the  organs  of 
one  of  our  senses,  the  existence  of  our  senses  supposes  the  exist*" 
ence  of  God,  since  it  is  God  who  gave  us  them  ;  the  existence  of 
God  is  the  foundation  of  the  Christian  religion — we  purpose  there- 
fore to  evince  the  truth  of  the  Christian  religion,  as  the  first  lesson 
in  Dioptrics."  T  shall  only  say  in  general  of  this  method,  when  in- 
duced into  the  pulpit,  that  however  acceptable  it  may  be  with  the 
many,  with  whom  sound  always  goes  much  farther  than  sense,  and 
favourite  words  and  phrases  to  which  their  ears  have  been  accus- 
tomed, than  the  most  judicious  sentiment,  I  know  no  surer  method 
of  rendering  preaching  utterly  inefficacious  and  uninstructive.  To 
attempt  every  thing  is  the  direct  way  to  effect  nothing.  If  you 
will  go  over  every  part,  you  must  be  superficial  in  every  part ;  you 
can  examine  no  part  to  any  useful  purpose.  What  would  you  think 
of  a  professor  of  anatomy,  who  should  run  over  all  the  organs  and 
limbs  and  parts  of  the  human  body  external  and  internal  in  every  lec- 
ture, and  think  himself  sufficiently  excusedby  saying  that  there  is  a 
connection  in  all  the  parts  ;  and  that  the  treating  of  one  naturally  led 
him  to  say  something  of  another  ;  and  so  on,  till  he  got  through  the 
whole  ?  Or,  what  would  your  opinion  be  of  a  lecturer  in  architec- 
ture, who  in  every  discourse  discussed  all  the  five  orders,  and  did 
not  leave  a  single  member  or  ornament  in  any  one  of  them  unnam" 


168  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

ed  ?  From  such  teachers,  could  a  reasonable  man  expect  to  learn 
any  thing  but  words  ?  The  head  of  the  learner  would,  in  conse- 
quence of  this  extraordinary  manner  of  teaching,  very  quickly  be 
stuffed  with  technical  terms  and  phrases  to  which  he  could  affix  no 
definite  signification.  He  might  soon  be  made  an  accomplished 
pedant  in  these  arts  ;  but,  to  the  end  of  the  world,  would  not  in 
this  way  be  rendered  a  proficient.  And  do  we  not  see  among  the 
common  people  many  such  pedants  in  divinity,  who  think  them- 
selves wonderful  scholars,  because  they  have  got  the  knack  of  ut- 
tering, with  great  volubility,  all  the  favourite  phrases  and  often  un- 
meaning cant  of  a  particular  sect  or  faction  ?  It  is  indeed  solely  to 
be  imputed  to  that  jealousy,  which  party  spirit  and  our  unhappy  di- 
visions in  religious  matters  have  produced,  that  this  futile  manner 
owes  its  origin.  In  consequence  of  this  party  spirit,  many  hearers 
whose  minds  are  unhappily  poisoned  with  its  malignity  come  to  a 
new  preacher  with  an  anxious  concern,  not  to  be  instructed  but  to 
be  satisfied,  whether  he  is  what  they  call  orthodox,  is  a  true  parti- 
zan  and  has  the  shibboleth  of  the  party  in  him ;  and  the  preacher, 
on  the  other  hand,  either  because  he  hath  imbibed  the  same  secta- 
rian spirit,  or  because  he  is  more  ambitious  to  please  than  to  edify, 
takes  this  way,  which  is  by  far  the  shortest  and  the  easiest,  of  in- 
gratiating himself  into  their  favour.  But  to  return  to  the  particu- 
lar instance  which  gave  rise  to  these  observations,  all  that  in  re- 
gard to  the  two  points  grace  and  salvation  is  previously  necessary 
to  the  explication  of  the  only  point,  which  makes  the  subject,  is  to 
observe,  in  so  many  words,  that  grace  means  here  the  unmerited  fa- 
vour of  God,  and  salvation  deliverance  from,  all  that  evil  which  is  con- 
sequent on  sin.  And  this  may  be  sufficiently  effected  in  the  exposi- 
tion of  the  text,  or  in  a  paraphrase  upon  it.  Nay,  whatever  further 
is  of  importance  as  to  both  these  points,  grace  and  salvation^  will 
necessarily  and  more  naturally  occur,  without  doing  any  violence 
to  the  unity  and  simplicity  of  the  discourse,  in  the  illustration  of 
the  subject,  which  is  purely  to  show  in  what  respect  divine  grace  is 
the  genuine  source  of  man's  salvation.  But  would  you  have  only 
one  point  ?  Where  is  then  the  distribution  or  partition  of  the  sub- 
ject, of  which  you  spoke  before  ?  I  would  indeed  have  but  one  sub- 
ject, though,  where  the  nature  of  the  thing  will  admit  it,  distributed 
for  order's  and  for  memory's  sake  into  its  different  members,  and 
then  the  several  points  in  the  division  must  appear  as  the  constituent 
parts  of  one  subject  and  one  whole,  and  not  as  so  many  distinct 
though  related  subjects  or   wholes.     Thus  the  forementioned  sub- 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  169 

ject  may  be  illustrated  under  these  two  articles,  which  will  make 
the  heads  of  discourse  :  the  plan  itself  of  our  redemption  by  the 
mediation  of  the  Son  is  the  result  of  grace  or  unmerited  favour ;  the 
completion  of  it  in  us  by  the  operation  of  the  Spirit  also  the  result 
of  grace.  Both  these  manifestly  centre  in  the  same  point  ;  salva- 
tion springs  from  grace.  But  if  you  must  draw  in  every  thing  that 
is  related  you  can  never  have  done,  till  you  have  made  your  sermon 
a  complete  system  of  Christian  divinity. 

The  method  in  making  sermons,  which  for  a  long  time  hath  car- 
ried the  vogue  in  this  country  over  every  other,  and  which  is  con- 
sidered as  very  simple  compared  with  the  more  laboured  and  intri- 
cate methods  formerly  in  use,  is  a  division  of  every  text,  into 
what  the  schoolmen  call  the  subject,  the  predicate  and  the  copula. 
Thus,  suppose  the  topic  to  be  discussed  were  the  nature  of  the  di- 
vine faithfulness,  and  the  text  1  Cor.  x.  13,  "  God  is  faithful :" 
this  most  simple  and  apposite  passage  would  be  divided  into  three 
heads.  The  first  would  be  the  divine  nature,  the  second  the  attri- 
bute of  faithfulness,  and  the  third  the  connection  between  the  two. 
This  is  not  discoursing  on  the  subject,  but  cutting  the  text  into 
fritters,  where  if  the  subject  come  in  for  a  share,  it  is  much  :  often 
it  is  eluded  altogether.  But  the  impropriety,  and  if  it  were  not  for 
the  commonness,  1  should  say  the  puerility  of  this  manner  will  ap- 
pear better  by  applying  it  to  other  matters,  in  which  the  pulpit  is 
not  concerned.  I  shall  suppose  one  hath  it  prescribed  to  him  as 
the  subject  of  an  oration,  an  inquiry  into  the  antiquity  of  rhyme. 
Accordingly  he  goes  to  work,  and  having  well  weighed  every  word 
and  syllable  of  the  question,  he  thus  lays  down  his  plan  of  opera- 
tions. First,  says  he,  I  shall  consider  what  is  implied  in  the  word 
antiquity,  and  all  the  different  acceptations  of  which  the  term  is  sus- 
ceptible ;  secondly,  I  shall  consider  the  nature,  import  and  proper- 
ties of  what  is  called  rhyme  ;  and  thirdly,  the  relation  in  which  the 
one  stands  to  the  other,  or  how  far  and  in  what  respect  the  one 
may  be  justly  predicated  of  the  other.  Could  any  one  imagine  that 
such  a  disquisitor  understood  the  subject  ?  Good  people  are  some- 
times offended  at  the  application  of  the  word  eloquence  to  preach- 
ing. They  think  it  savours  of  something  merely  human  and  too  arti- 
ficial. But  the  art  of  preaching,  as  in  fact  it  hath  been  long  taught 
and  practised  by  the  men,  whom  those  people  generally  most  ad- 
mire, is  the  genuine  offspring  of  the  dialectic  of  the  schools,  and 
fifty  times  more  artificial,  or  if  you  will  mechanical,  than  that 
which  true   rhetoric  would  inculcate.     On  the  contrary,  it  is  the 


170   '        CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

business  of  the  latter  to  bring  men  back  from  all  scholastic  pedan- 
try and  jargon,  to  nature,  simplicity  and  truth.  And  let  me  add, 
that  discourses  on  this  plan  will  be  found  much  more  conformable, 
in  manner  and  composition,  to  the  simple  but  excellent  models  to  be 
found  in  sacred  writ. 


LECTURE  IX. 


Of  Explanatory  Sermons — How  the  branches  should  be  arranged  and  treated 
— Of  the  Style — Technical  Language  to  be  avoided  and  that  of  Scripture 
preferred — Abuse  of  Scripture  Style — Of  the  Conclusion. 

In  my  last  discourse  on  Christian  eloquence,  I  considered  part 
of  the  explanatory  sermon,  which  was  begun  with,  as  the  simplest, 
to  wit,  the  exordium  or  introduction,  the  proposing  of  the  design 
with  the  explication  of  the  text  and  context,  where  such  explication 
is  necessary,  and  the  division  of  the  subject.  1  should  now  pro- 
ceed to  consider  in  what  method  the  branches  of  the  division  should 
be  ranged,  how  they  should  be  treated,  and  the  properest  way  of 
forming  the  conclusion.  As  to  the  first,  the  order  in  which  the 
principal  heads  of  a  discourse  ought  to  be  arranged,  this  is  some- 
times of  considerable  consequence,  sometimes  it  is  a  matter  mere- 
ly discretionary.  It  is  of  consequence,  when  the  knowledge  of  one 
part  is,  in  its  nature,  pre-requisite  to  the  right  understanding  of 
another  part;  it  is  also  of  consequence,  when  in  the  order  of  time 
or  of  nature,  the  one  part  is  conceived  as  preceding  the  other.  The 
arrangement  may  be  said  to  be  discretionary,  when  neither  of  the 
above  mentioned  cases  takes  place.  Suppose,  for  instance,  the 
preacher's  subject  were  the  nature  of  evangelical  repentance,  and  he 
were  disposed  to  comprehend  the  whole  under  the  three  following 
heads,  a  proper  sense  and  conviction  of  sin,  pious  and  suitable  res- 
olutions from  an  apprehension  of  divine  mercy  through  the  media- 
tion of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  and  a  real  conversion  or  change  to 
the  obedience  of  God.  The  order,  in  which  these  topics  have  just 
now  been  mentioned,  is  the  only  order  in  which  the  subject  could 
properly  be  discussed.  The  right  understanding  of  every  previous 
member  is  preparatory  to  the  right  understanding  of  that  which  fol- 
lows. This  arrangement  will  perhaps  be  considered  also  as  fixed 
by  the  order  of  nature  and  of  time.     I  shall  for  another  instance 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES,  171 

recur  to  that  mentioned  in  a  former  lecture.  Suppose  then  the 
preacher's  subject  is  to  illustrate  this  important  evangelical  truth, 
that  grace  or  the  unmerited  favour  of  God  is  the  genuine  source  of 
man's  salvation  ;  suppose  further,  that  one  chooses  for  the  illustration 
of  it  the  two  topics  also  above  mentioned ;  the  plan  of  our  redemption 
by  Jesus  Christ  is  purely  the  result  of  grace  or  unmerited  favour, 
the  completion  of  this  plan  in  us  by  the  operation  of  the  Spirit  is  al- 
so the  result  of  grace.  It  is  evident,  that  the  order  in  which  these 
two  topics  are  now  laid  down,  is  the  only  natural  order  in  which 
they  could  be  treated.  The  plan  is  ever  conceived  as  previous  to 
the  execution.  But  in  another  example  of  distribution  taken  from 
Tillotson,  of  the  characters  of  gospel  obedience  into  sincerity,  uni- 
versality and  constancy,  it  is  not  perhaps  material  in  what  order 
you  explain  these  particulars.  As  there  are  few  cases,  however,  in 
which  even  this  circumstance,  when  attentively  considered,  will  ap- 
pear perfectly  indifferent,  I  should  like  best  the  order  wherein  I 
have  just  now  named  them,  though  I  could  not  deny,  that  in  any 
order  they  might  be  treated  with  sufficient  perspicuity.  Indeed  in 
the  other  instance  also  above  mentioned  of  prayer,  as  divided  into 
its  constituent  parts,  petition,  confession  and  thanksgiving,  the  or- 
der is  perhaps  as  much  discretionary,  as  in  any  example  that  could 
be  produced.  Again,  as  in  the  explication  of  the  principal  heads 
or  topics,  there  may  be  scope  for  a  subdivision,  the  same  remarks 
will  hold  with  regard  to  the  arrangement  of  the  constituent  mem- 
bers of  that  subdivision.  But  as  it  is  impossible,  that  one  who  him- 
self understands  the  subject  that  he  treats,  should  not  perceive  the 
dependance  of  the  parts  and  consequently  the  natural  order,  where 
the  subject  gives  scope  for  it,  I  should  think  it  losing  time  to  enter 
more  minutely  into  the  discussion  of  this  point.  I  shall  only  fur- 
ther remark  on  the  article  of  arrangement,  that  as  a  multiplicity  of 
divisions  and  subdivisions  is  not  only  cumbersome  to  the  memory, 
but  savours  too  much  of  artifice  and  a  kind  of  minute  and  finical 
precision,  a  speaker  ought  carefully  to  avoid  it.  Do  not  imagine, 
that  by  this  I  mean  to  recommend  a  rambling  and  desultory  man- 
ner of  treating  a  subject.  Nothing  can  be  farther  from  my  inten- 
tion. I  know  well  the  power  of  method  for  assisting  both  the  un- 
derstanding and  the  memory,  and  with  how  much  justice  Horace 
hath  styled  it  lucidus  ordo,  (lucid  order)  as  being  that,  which,  of  all 
qualities,  tends  most  to  throw  light  upon  a  subject.  But  though  a 
just  and  natural  order  ought  ever  to  be  preserved  in  the  disposition 
of  the  sentiments  in  a  sermon,  the  formality  of  always  proposing  or 


172  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

laying  down  that  order,  especially  in  the  subordinate  parts  or  in- 
ferior branches  of  a  discourse,  is  rarely  the  most  eligible  meth- 
od for  recommending  what  you  say  to  the  attention  of  the  hearers. 
Need  I  add,  that  in  general  in  this  kind  of  discourses  the  style 
should  be  remarkably  simple  and  perspicuous.  The  immediate 
end  is  distinct  apprehension.  It  therefore  admits  but  few  orna- 
ments, sometimes  indeed  it  will  receive  very  properly  a  sort  of 
painting  or  imagery,  which  seems  more  immediately  intended  to 
delight  the  fancy,  but  which  seasonably  enough  relieves  the  minds 
of  the  hearers  from  too  intense  an  application  of  thought,  to  what  in 
itself  may  be  called  a  sort  of  abstract  truth,  an  application,  of 
which  the  generality  of  hearers  are  very  little  capable  ;  at  the  same 
time  that  it  fixes  their  attention,  and  even  conveys  to  them  more 
distinct  conceptions  by  a  happy  illustration  of  things  less  known  by 
things  familiar  to  them.  Thus  the  great  truths  in  relation  to  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  were  ever  illustrated  to  the  people  by  Him, 
whom  we  ought  to  regard  as  our  pattern  in  teaching  as  well  as  in 
life  and  practice,  by  the  common  incidents  and  affairs  of  this  world, 
with  which  they  had  occasion  to  be  well  acquainted.  1  would  not, 
however,  by  this  be  understood  to  recommend  so  close  an  imita- 
tion of  our  Lord's  manner,  as  to  endeavour  to  convey  every  thing 
in  parables  and  allegories.  1  am  afraid,  this  might  give  scope  for 
too  close  a  comparison,  which  would  redound  greatly  to  the  disad- 
vantage of  any  modern  speaker;  besides,  I  must  acknowledge  that 
though  in  what  concerns  the  matter,  the  great  truths  of  religion  re- 
main invariably  the  same,  yet  in  what  regards  the  general  manner 
of  communicating  them,  the  mode  or  custom  of  the  country  where 
we  live,  ought  not  altogether  to  be  overlooked.  In  a  remarkable 
deviation  from  it,  there  is  always  the  disagreeable  appearance  of  af- 
fectation. The  warmer  and  livelier  manner  of  the  orientals  never 
fails  to  please  us  exceedingly  in  their  writings  ;  at  the  same  time 
that  it  appears  to  sit  very  awkwardly  on  a  modern  European.  It 
suggests  the  idea  rather  of  mimicry,  or  a  servile  copying,  than  of  a 
liberal  imitation.  Certain  things  in  the  manner  of  conveying  in- 
struction, as  well  as  the  words  and  phrases  of  the  language  that  we 
employ,  are  in  every  age  and  nation  dependent  upon  use,  from 
which  we  cannot  deviate  far  without  becoming  ridiculous.  But 
there  is  sufficient  scope  for  imitating  the  manner  of  our  Lord,  by  a 
proper  choice  of  similes  and  examples  borrowed  from  things  hu- 
man, for  assisting  the  apprehension  of  the  people  in  things  divine. 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  173 

In  regard  to  the  manner  of  treating  the  different  branches  of  the 
subject,  I  shall  only  further  add,  that  if  there  occur,  on  any  of  them, 
any  difficulty  arising  either  from  the  nature  of  the  point  to  be  dis- 
cussed, or  from  misconceptions  of  the  subject  commonly  entertain- 
ed, or  from  any  customary  but  wrong  way  of  explaining  it,  such 
difficulties  will  generally  be  best  obviated  in  the  entry  ;  I  say,  gen- 
erally, because  sometimes  a  simple  and  distinct  explanation  will 
make  the  difficulty  entirely  vanish,  and  a"t  most  it  will  require  only 
one's  remarking,  as  it  were  by  the  way,  the  misrepresentation  that 
has  been  given,  or  the  misconception  that  has  been  entertained  of 
such  a  part  of  the  subject.  Let  it  serve  also  as  a  general  rule  in  this 
kind  of  discourses,  to  avoid  too  great  subtlety  and  depth  in  your  ex- 
planations. The  many  controversies  that  have  arisen  in  the  Chris- 
tian church,  and  the  parties  and  factions  into  which  Christendom  is 
unhappily  divided,  have  amongst  all  of  them,  in  less  or  more,  given 
rise  to  a  scholastic  manner  of  treating  almost  every  question  in  di- 
vinity, a  manner  extremely  unsuitable  to  the  simplicity  of  the  sa- 
cred idiom,  and  the  purpose  of  edifying  a  Christian  congregation. 
The  same  thing  has  also  given  rise  to  a  sort  of  technical  language 
in  those  matters,  which  is  somewhat  different,  indeed,  in  every 
different  sect,  and  too  much  savouring  in  all  of  the  cobweb  distinc- 
tions of  schoolmen  and  metaphysicians,  but  very  little  of  the  wisdom 
which  is  from  above.  It  is  this  which  hath  made  preaching  in  ma- 
ny places  degenerate  into  what  the  apostle  terms,  *'  doting  about 
questions  and  strifes  of  words,  whereofcometh  envy,  strife,  railings, 
evil  surmisings,  perverse  disputings  of  men  of  corrupt  minds  and 
destitute  of  the  truth."  I  have  often  recommended,  and  can 
scarce  sufficiently  inculcate  on  all  students  in  theology,  to  be 
more  conversant  with  their  Bible,  than  with  the  writings  of  any  of 
the  most  celebrated  divines,  to  whatever  sect  or  party  they  belong, 
and  to  familiarize  themselves  to  the  style  and  sentiments  of  the 
former  much  more  than  to  those  of  the  latter.  I  am  far  from  think- 
ing, that  we  ought  to  reject  the  use  of  the  latter  altogether  ;  but 
am  clearly  of  opinion  that  the  more  assiduous  and  unintermitted 
study  of  the  former  should  give  an  ascendent  in  our  minds  to  the 
sentiments,  to  the  turn  of  thinking,  and  even  to  the  forms  of  expres- 
oion  when  we  learn  them,  and  should  serve  as  a  proper  check,  to 
prevent  our  imbibing  and  adopting  too  implicitly,  either  in  tenets  or 
in  style,  the  peculiarities  of  a  sect. 
22 


174  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

Before  I  leave  this  article,  I  would  also  warn  you  against  another 
fault,  which  is  sometimes  to  be  met  with,  and  that  is,  using  the 
scripture  style  itself  in  an  unmeaning  manner.  There  are,  espe- 
cially in  the  prophets,  it  must  be  acknowledged,  several  pas- 
sages, about  the  sense  of  which  the  most  learned  and  judicious 
interpreters  are  divided  ;  there  are  many  more  expressions,  which 
are  not  intelligible  at  least  to  the  common  people  ;  and  even  of  many, 
that  are  quite  perspicuous  when  considered  as  standing  in  connec- 
tion with  the  context,  such  applications  are  often  made,  as  convey 
either  no  meaning  at  all,  or  a  very  different  meaning  from  that  which 
is  suggested  by  the  same  words  as  they  are  situated  in  scripture.  This 
is  turning  the  language  of  the  Spirit  itself,  if  not  to  a  bad  use,  at 
least  into  mere  cant  and  jargon,  a  practice  exceedingly  common  in 
the  theological  writings  of  the  last  century  intended  for  the  use  of  the 
people,  but  not  so  often  to  be  met  with  in  the  present  age  ;  except 
amongst  a  few,  on  whom  the  dregs  of  the  fanaticism,  conceited  ig- 
norance and  factious  spirit  of  the  former  seem  entirely  to  have  set- 
tled. The  true  origin  of  this  abuse  is  an  excessive  tendency  to  the 
use  of  scripture  phraseology,  merely  in  the  way  of  allusion.  Let  it 
be  observed,  that  I  do  by  no  means  condemn  in  the  gross  an  allu- 
sive application  of  scripture  phrases,  when  clear,  when  apposite, 
and  when  emphatical,  as  they  often  are,  although  we  be  sensible 
that  the  meaning,  in  which  we  employ  them,  does  not  coincide 
with  that  which  they  have  in  the  sacred  volume.  Where  they  are 
not  quoted  in  the  way  of  proof,  but  manifestly  adopted  in  the  way 
of  illustration,  they  produce  nearly  the  effect  of  similitude,  contain- 
ing an  implicit  comparison  between  the  event  to  which  they  origi- 
nally referred,  and  that  to  which  they  are  applied  by  the  preacher. 
Besides,  this  method  of  applying,  by  way  of  allusion,  passages  of  the 
Old  Testament  we  find  also  frequently  adopted  by  the  writers  of 
the  New.  Such  an  use,  therefore,  we  must  declare  in  general,  is 
Jiot  only  allowable,  but  often  energetic.  It  requires,  however,  to  be 
managed  with  the  utmost  discretion.  Corruptio  optimi  pessima 
f{a  corruption  of  the  best  thing  is  the  worst  sort  of  corruption)  is 
-even  grown  into  a  proverb. 

There  are  two  dangers,  in  particular,  which  here  ought  to  be 
carefully  guarded  against.  One  is,  that  whilst  we  mean  only  to 
make  an  allusive  application,  we  may  not  express  ourselves  in  such 
a  manner,  as  might  seem  to  fix  a  sense  on  holy  writ  different  from 
that  of  the  inspired  penmen.  The  other  is,  that  we  do  not  run  in- 
to the  obscure  and  enigmatic  style,  as  is  sometimes  done  through  an 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  175 

excessive  inclination  to  hunt  after  scripture  phrases,  tropes  and  fig- 
ures, or  after  figurative  applications  of  what  perhaps  was  sufficiently 
plain  in  the  literal  and  original  use.  Nothing  can  be  more  op- 
posite to  the  nature  and  intention  of  the  explanatory  discourse  than 
such  a  method.  For  however  emphatical  a  clear  and  apposite  al- 
lusion may  be,  nothing  can  have  a  worse  effect,  when  the  resem- 
blance is  but  faint  and  scarcely  discernible,  for  then  the  way  of 
applying  the  sacred  words  inevitably  appears,  to  the  more  judicio^is 
hearers,  affected  and  far-fetched  ;  and  though  the  imaginations  of 
the  more  ignorant  may  be  pleased,  and  their  ears  as  it  were  tick- 
led by  the  use  of  phrases,  for  which  through  habit  they  have  ac- 
quired a  veneration,  their  understandings  are  not  at  all  enlightened. 
On  the  contrary,  the  subject,  (though  they  may  not  be  sensible  of 
it ;  for  those  of  this  class  are  very  prone  to  mistake  words  for 
things,  and  mere  sound  for  sense)  is  more  veiled  and  darkened  to 
them,  than  it  was  before.  A  preacher  who  is  ever  on  the  scent 
(and  such  preachers  I  have  sometimes  heard)  for  allusive  scripture 
phrases,  can  express  nothing  in  a  simple,  natural  and  perspicuous 
manner.  He  will  exhibit  to  you  the  mental  blindness  of  the  unre- 
generate,  by  telling  you,  that  they  *'  see  men  as  trees  walking;" 
spiritual  and  temporal  mercies  he  rarely  fails  to  denominate,  "the 
blessings  of  the  upper  and  the  nether  springs ;"  in  order  to  denote 
the  assurance,  which  the  church  or  Christian  community  have  of  a 
triumph  over  all  their  enemies,  he  will  tell  us,  ''  The  shout  of  a 
king  is  among  them,  and  he  hath  as  it  were  the  strength  of  an  uni- 
corn;"  and  to  express  I  know  not  what,  (but  I  have  myself  heard 
the  phrase  adopted  by  preachers  of  this  stamp)  he  tells  us  very 
pompously,  "The  king's  goings  are  always  to  be  seen  in  the  sanc- 
tuary." Nay,  what  is  worse,  (but  I  remark  it  here  only  by  the 
way)  sometimes  dark  and  indefinite  expressions,  like  these,  are 
converted  into  petitions  and  adopted  in  public  prayer.  Such  will 
say,  "  may  the  shout  of  a  king  be  amongst  us ;  may  his  goings  be 
seen  in  the  sanctuary  ;"  and  many  other  such  indefinite  and  dark 
expressions  one  has  sometimes  occasion  to  hear,  where  they  are  ex- 
ceedingly unsuitable,  in  the  public  devotions  ;  for  though  the  speak- 
er may  himself  affix  some  meaning  to  them,  it  is  impossible  they 
should  be  understood  or  applied  aright  by  the  much  greater  part  of 
the  audience.  With  respect  to  them,  therefore,  he  acts  much  the 
same  part,  as  if  he  prayed  in  an  unknown  tongue.  So  much  for 
the  manner  and  the  style  in  which  the  doctrines  and  the  duties  oC 
our  religion  ought  to  be  explained  to  the  people.     I  shall  only  add 


176  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

upon  the  whole  of  this  branch  of  the  subject,  as  a  general  position 
that  will  never  fail  to  hold,  that  the  surest  expedient,  that  any  per- 
son can  devise,  for  preventing  his  explanation  of  his  subject  from 
being  unintelligible  to  the  hearers,  is  to  be  careful,  in  the  first  place, 
that  he  distinctly  understand  it  himself.  It  was  well  said  by  a  mas- 
ter in  this  valuable  art,  "  Si  rem  potenter  conceperis,  nee  animus, 
nee  facundia  in  concione  defutura  sunt  ;"*  or  in  the  words  of  Je- 
rom,  "  duia  firmiter  concepimus  bene  loquimur,"  (we  speak  well, 
because  we  have  firmly  grasped  the  subject.")  We  may  safely  pro- 
nounce, that  in  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  a  hundred,  where  we  find, 
in  any  writing,  the  thoughts  to  be  darkly  and  confusedly  expressed, 
the  true  reason  has  been,  the  dark  and  confused  conceptions  of  the 
author.  One  ought,  therefore,  before  all  things,  to  endeavour  to  be 
master  of  the  subject  which  he  explains,  to  range  his  thoughts 
properly  and  naturally,  to  have  a  distinct  meaning  to  every  expres- 
sion that  he  uses,  and  to  employ  only  such  as  he  has  reason  to  be- 
lieve will  be  generally  intelligible. 

It  remains  only  now,  that  in  this  species  of  discourse  we  consid- 
er the  conclusion.  And  here,  if  not  always,  it  will  very  generally 
be  proper,  to  begin  with  a  brief  recapitulation  of  the  articles  dis- 
cussed. This  is  of  importance  both  for  the  better  understanding  of 
the  subject,  and  for  fixing  it  more  firmly  in  the  memory,  and  is  al- 
most indispensable  when  the  subject  happens  to  be  complex.  But 
this  is  the  smallest  and  the  easiest  part  of  what  in  such  discourses 
should  constitute  the  conclusion.  As  in  religion,  the  ultimate  end 
both  of  knowledge  and  faith  is  practice,  or,  in  other  words,  the 
real  improvement  of  the  heart  and  life,  so  every  doctrine  whatever  is 
of  use,  either  as  a  direction  in  the  performance  of  duty,  or  as  a  mo- 
tive to  it.  And  the  knowledge  and  belief  of  hearers  are  no  farther 
salutary  to  them,  than  this  great  end  is  reached.  On  the  contrary, 
where  it  is  not  reached,  where  the  heart  is  not  bettered  and  the  life 
reformed,  they  prove  only  the  means  of  aggravating  their  guilt  and 
heightening  their  condemnation.  The  doctrines  of  the  unity  and 
spirituality  of  the  Godhead  serve  to  point  out  the  proper  object  of 
religious  worship,  and  the  nature  of  that  worship  which  must  be  ac- 
ceptable to  God.  The  other  doctrines  concerning  the  divine  at- 
tributes serve  both  for  our  direction  in  regard  to  the  adoration  and 
homage  which  we  owe  to  Him,  and  also  as  motives  to  the  duties  of 

*  If  you  thoroughly  understand  a  subject,  there  will  be  no  want  of  suitable 
expressions. 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  177 

reverence,  trust,  love  and  obedience.  The  scripture  doctrine,  in 
regard  to  the  positive  institutions  of  religion,  serves  chiefly  to  direct 
us  as  to  the  manner  and  disposition  in  which  these  institutions 
ought  to  be  celebrated.  The  other  doctrines  of  Christianity  are 
manifestly  intended  to  be  used,  and  are  employed  by  the  sacred 
writers  as  motives  to  a  pious  and  Christian  life.  How  strongly  does 
the  doctrine  of  the  mediation  enforce  the  calls  given  in  scripture  to 
sinners  to  repentance?  How  powerfully  does  the  doctrine  of  the  in- 
fluences of  the  Holy  Spirit,  rightly  understood,  tend  both  to  excite 
us  to  assiduity  and  fervour  in  our  devotions,  and  to  animate  our  en- 
deavours after  moral  perfection  in  the  persuasion  of  this  almighty 
aid  ?  Need  I  suggest  the  practical  use  to  which  the  doctrines  of 
the  resurrection,  of  the  future  judgment,  ol  the  final  retribution,  of 
heaven,  hell  and  eternity  so  manifestly  point?  Nor  can  any  thing 
appear  more  proper  and  natural,  than  such  a  manner  of  ending  a 
discourse  which,  as  to  the  substance  of  it,  was  addressed  purely  to 
the  understanding  of  the  hearers  ;  in  as  much  as  it  is  incontrovert- 
ible, that  the  revelation  of  these  important  truths  delivered  in  the 
gospel  was  never  intended  to  terminate  in  being  understood  and  as- 
sented to,  but  in  having  a  happy  influence  on  the  dieposition  of 
mind  and  whole  behaviour.  It  was  not  given  to  gratify  our  curios- 
ity, but  to  regulate  our  lives.  Hence  it  is,  that  we  find  it  so  fre- 
quently in  scripture  joined  with  epithets  and  attributes  expressive 
of  this  quality,  a  most  holy  faith,  a  doctrine  according  to  godliness ^ 
and  sound  doctrine,  vyicavaa-ct  ^i^cctkuXix  ioholeso7ne  instruction,  not 
(as  the  expression  has  been  sometimes  perverted  by  the  bigoted  re- 
tainers to  a  party)  a  precise  conformity  in  phraseology  and  opinion 
to  all  the  little  captious  particularities  of  the  sect.  It  is  impossible 
to  conceive  any  thing  more  remote  from  the  original  signification 
of  the  word,  sound.  It  is  a  term,  which  marks  not  the  logical  just- 
ness of  a  theory,  but  its  beneficial  tendency ;  it  is  not  the  truth  of 
any  notion  which  can  denominate  it  sound,  but  the  salutary  influ- 
ence it  hath  on  human  life,  that  which  makes  it  serve  as  food  and 
medicine  to  the  soul.  Whatever  in  divinity  is  void  of  such  influ- 
ence, like  the  far  greater  number  of  the  metaphysical  questions  ag- 
itated among  controvertists,  whether  true  or  false,  is  hollow  and 
unsound,  a  barren  insignificant  speculation  :  whatever  hath  an  op- 
posite influence,  (and  such  doctrines  also  have  been  broached)  and 
tends  to  subvert  the  foundation  of  mutual  love  and  obligations  to 
the  practice  of  virtue,  is  more  properly  termed  poisonous.  Nay  the 
pure  unadulterated  tenets  of  the  gospel  have  so  direct  and  manifest 


178  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

atendency  to  enforce  sanctity  of  life  and  manners,  that  when  any 
of  them  are  treated  of  by  the  inspired  writers  of  the  New'  Testa- 
ment, the  subject  is  almost  invariably  concluded  by  such  a  practi- 
cal application.  Thus  the  apostle  Peter,  (2  Peter  iii.)  after  treat- 
ing of  the  general  conflagration,  very  naturally  concludes,  "Seeing 
then  that  all  these  things  shall  be  dissolved,  what  manner  of  fper- 
sons  ought  ye  to  be  in  all  holy  conversation  and  godliness  ;"  and 
after  taking  notice  of  the  new  heavens  and  new  earth,  that  shall 
succeed  the  present,  he  adds,  "  Wherefore,  beloved,  seeing  that  ye 
look  for  such  things,  be  diligent  that  ye  may  be  found  of  him  in 
peace  without  spot  and  blameless."  In  like  manner,  the  apostle 
Paul,  after  treating  at  some  length  of  the  resurrection,  concludes 
the  whole  with  this  earnest  exhortation,  (1  Cor.  xv.  58.)  "  There- 
fore, my  beloved  brethren,  be  ye  stedfast,  immoveable,  always 
abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord-,  for  as  much  as  ye  know  that 
your  labour  is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord."  It  is  almost  only  this  part, 
which  in  explanatory  discourses  admits  of  warmth,  and  what  may 
be  called  an  address  to  the  affections.  A  deep  sense  in  the  preach- 
er of  the  importance  of  this  iniprovementof  every  instruction  which 
he  gives,  an  affectionate  desire  of  promoting  the  good  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  a  zeal  for  the  interests  of  religion  and  virtue  are  the  only 
sure  methods  I  know  of,  ibr  qualifying  him  to  address  them  suita- 
bly and  efficaciously. 


LECTURE  X. 


Of  Controversial  Discourses — Candour  and  Simplicity  ever  to  be  studied  in  the 
Defence  of  Truth. 

I  HAVE  now  finished  the  consideration  of  the  explanatory  sermon, 
which  is  of  all  the  kinds  mentioned  the  simplest,  and  approaches 
nearest  to  what  in  the  primitive  church  was  called  liomily.  The 
end  of  it,  as  was  observed,  is  to  dispel  ignorance  and  to  communi- 
cate knowledge,  and  for  this  purpose  it  addresses  the  understanding 
of  the  hearers.  The  next  in  order  is  the  controversial,  addressed 
also  to  the  understanding,  its  end  being  to  conquer  doubt  and  er- 
ror, and  to  produce  belief  In  other  words,  by  the  first  it  is  pro- 
posed to  inform  the  hearers,  by  the  second  to  convince  them.  It 
is  the  second  kind,  which  I  now  intend  to  consider,   and  shall  en- 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  179 

deavour  to  despatch,  what  I  have  to  offer  upon  it  in  the  present  lec- 
ture. There  are  many  observations,  such  as  those  regarding  the 
unity  of  the  subject,  the  choice  of  a  text,  the  topics  proper  for  the 
f xordium,  the  explication  of  text  and  context,  wheie  necessary, 
which  hold  equally  in  all  the  kinds,  and  therefore  need  not  be  re- 
peated in  the  examination  of  each  different  kind. 

In  regard  to  the  unity  of  the  subject,  I  shall  only  observe,  that 
here  it  admits  rather  a  clearer  definition  or  description,  than  per- 
haps in  any  of  the  others.  A  controversial  sermon  is  then  strictly 
one,  when  there  is  only  one  thesis,  as  I  may  call  it,  that  is,  one 
proposition,  whether  affirmative  or  negative,  the  truth  of  which  it  is 
the  scope  of  the  whole  discourse  to  evince.  Suppose  a  preacher 
should  (in  order  to  guard  his  people  against  some  apparent  danger 
of  seduction;  for,  without  some  special  reason  of  this  sort  contro- 
versy is  not  eligible  in  the  pulpit,)  judge  it  necessary  to  maintain 
the  lawfulness  of  infant-baptism  ;  that  which  would  constitute  his 
performance  one,  is,  that  the  aim  of  the  whole,  and  of  every  part, 
should  unite  in  supporting  this  position,  that  it  is  agreeable  to  the  gos- 
pel dispensation,  that  infants  should  be  baptized.  The  thing  might 
be  illustrated  by  a  thousand  other  examples  ;  but  it  is  really  so  plain 
in  itself,  that  1  could  not  consider  it,  as  any  other,  than  losing  time 
to  produce  more  instances. 

In  regard  to  the  text,  the  same  qualities  are  required  here  as  in 
the  former  species,  namely  appositeness,  simplicity  and  perspicuity. 
In  regard  to  the  first  of  these,  the  appositeness,  let  it  be  remarked 
here  by  the  way,  that  it  is  not  possible  to  find,  on  every  subject,  a 
text  that  has  this  quality  in  an  equal  degree.  On  some  articles  the 
declarations  of  scripture  are  more  explicit  and  direct ;  on  others, 
not  less  certain  even  from  scripture,  the  evidences  at  least  in  regard 
to  the  mode  of  expression  are  more  implicit  and  indirect.  I  may 
observe  also  that  we  are  not  to  understand  this  quality  of  apposite 
so  strictly,  as  to  suppose,  that  by  the  text  we  should  discover  wheth- 
er the  intended  sermon  is  to  be  explanatory  or  controversial.  This 
is  hardly  ever  to  be  expected.  The  text  John  iv.  24,  "  God  is  a 
spirit,"  is  simple,  perspicuous  and  apposite,  either  for  an  explana- 
tory discourse  on  the  nature  of  the  Divine  spirituality,  or  for  a  con- 
troversial discourse,  whose  aim  is  to  evince  the  spirituality  of  God. 
Nay,  in  a  course  of  preaching  on  points,  which  may  be  controvert- 
ed, this  method,  especially  by  a  pastor  in  his  own  parish,  is  some- 
times not  improperly  adopted.  His  division  of  the  subject  accord- 
ingly, when  he  first  enters  on  it,  may   be  this,  first  to  explain  the 


I8t  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

doctrine  of  his  text  whatever  it  be;  secondly,  to  evince  the  truth  of 
that  doctrine.  As,  however,  the  tenour  of  these  two  different  parts, 
from  the  nature  of  the  composition  fitted  to  each,  is  very  different, 
it  is  commonly  better  to  disjoin  them,  so  far  as  to  make  separate 
discourses  of  them,  though  from  the  same  passage  of  sacred  writ, 
the  explanation  being  the  subject  of  the  first,  and  the  proof  of  the 
subject  of  that  which  immediately  succeeds  the  other.  But  when 
the  explanatory  part  may  with  sufficient  distinctness  be  despatched 
in  a  few  sentences,  1  should  admit  that  both  parts  may  conveniently 
enough,  and  without  violating  the  unity  of  design,  be  comprised  in 
the  same  discourse.  Something  extremely  similar  we  find  to  have 
taken  place  sometimes  in  the  judiciary  pleadings  of  the  ancients, 
which  I  observed  to  have  an  analogy,  in  point  of  form,  to  controver- 
sial sermons.  When  the  law  was  either  obscure  or  complex,  a  sep- 
arate explanation  of  the  statute  was  made  to  precede  the  arguments 
either  for,  or  against  the  accused.  And  we  can  easily  perceive  the 
expediency  of  this  method  for  throwing  light  upon  the  proof,  and 
assisting  the  hearers  in  discerning  the  justness  of  the  reasoning.  A 
similar  manner  we  find  recommended  by  the  example  of  some  of 
the  best  preachers,  both  in  French  and  in  English. 

In  the  controversial  sermon  after  the  exordium,  and  brief  expla- 
nation of  the  text  and  context  where  necessary ;  the  point  of  doc- 
trine to  be  either  supported  or  refuted,  ought  to  be  as  distinctly,  per- 
spicuously and  briefly  as  possible  proposed,  and  then  the  method 
ought  to  be  laid  down  in  which  you  intend  to  manage  the  argument. 
This  method  on  different  questions  will  be  very  different.  When  a 
controverted  point  is  simple  in  its  nature,  and  when  there  is  only  one 
opposing  sentiment,  which  the  preacher  has  to  refute,  the  most  com- 
mon, and  indeed  the  most  natural  method  he  can  take  will  be,  first,  to 
refute  the  arguments  of  the  adversary  ;  and  secondly,  to  support  his 
own  doctrine  by  proper  proofs.  On  the  first,  his  acquaintance  with 
the  adversary's  plea  must  serve  for  a  directory  as  to  the  method  where- 
in he  should  proceed.  Only  let  it  be  observed  in  general,  that  where 
one  means  honestly  to  defend  truth  and  to  detect  error,  he  will 
ever  find  his  account  in  employing  the  most  plain  and  unequivocal 
expressions,  and  in  exposing  the  ambiguities  and  indefinite  terms, 
in  which,  it  often  happens,  that  the  sophistry  of  the  adverse  party 
lies  concealed.  Some  of  our  theological  disputes,  and  even  some 
of  those  which  have  created  the  greatest  ferments  and  most  lasting 
animosities  among  Christians,  are  merely  verbal.  These,  as  much 
as  possible,  ought  to  be  avoided.  Others,  in  which  there  is  a  real 
difference  in  opinion,  as  well  as  in  expression^  in  the  different  sides, 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  181 

have  nevertheless  given  rise  to  a  deal  of  logomachy  in  the  manner 
wherein  they  have  been  managed.  In  most  questions,  what  is  of 
real  weight  in  the  way  of  argument  on  the  opposite  sides  might  be 
reduced  to  a  very  small  compass.  It  will  well  become  the  assertor  of 
truth,  whose  cause  has  the  greater  advantage,  the  stronger  the 
light  be,  into  which  he  brings  it,  to  endeavour,  by  clearing  off  the 
rubbish  of  mere  cavils,  ambiguous  and  indefinite  words  and  phrases, 
to  convey  plain  and  determinate  ideas  to  the  hearers,  and  thus  as 
much  as  possible  to  simplify  the  question.  Then  let  him  discuss 
severally,  what  is  thought  to  be  of  most  moment  on  the  adverse 
side,  avoiding  to  tire  his  hearers  with  too  curious  a  minuteness  of 
investigation,  or  to  perplex  himself  with  a  needless  multiplicity  of 
topics.  Another  error  in  disputation,  which  is  by  far  too  common, 
is,  when  one  will  admit  nothing  in  the  plea  or  arguments  of  an  ad- 
versary to  be  of  the  smallest  weight.  That  they  have  no  weight 
may  be  the  case  sometimes,  but  it  is  not  always  so.  And  this  ex- 
treme will  ever,  with  the  more  judicious,  savour  either  of  blind  zeal 
in  the  preacher,  or  of  a  total  want  of  candour,  which  will  rather 
create  a  prejudice  against  the  speaker,  in  the  minds  of  those  who 
are  intelligent  and  sensible,  that  he  does  not  justice  to  the  other 
side,  than  incline  them  to  give  a  favourable  reception  to  his  argu- 
ments. It  gives,  besides,  an  appearance  to  the  debate  which  sa- 
vours much  more  of  proceeding  from  a  mind  ambitious  of  the  glory 
of  victory,  than  concerned  for  the  interests  of  truth.  I  have  heard 
a  disputant  of  this  stamp,  in  defiance  of  etymology  and  use,  main- 
tain that  the  word  rendered  in  the  New  Testament  baptize,  means 
more  properly  to  sprinkle  than  to  plunge,  and,  in  defiance  of  all 
antiquity,  that  the  former  method  was  the  earliest,  and,  for  many 
centuries,  the  most  general  practice  in  baptizing.  One,  who  ar- 
gues in  this  manner,  never  fails,  with  persons  of  knowledge,  to  be- 
tray the  cause  he  would  defend ;  and  though  with  respect  to  the 
vulgar,  bold  assertions  generally  succeed,  as  well  as  arguments, 
sometimes  better  ;  yet  a  candid  mind  will  disdain  to  take  the  help 
of  a  falsehood,  even  in  support  of  the  truth. 

After  discussing  the  adversary's  plea,  it  will  be  proper  in  the  sec- 
ond place  to  enter  on  the  proofs.  If  the  point  under  examination, 
is  knowable  by  the  light  of  nature,  as  if  it  regard  the  being  and  per- 
fections of  God,  or  the  great  obligations  of  morality,  one  topic  of  ar- 
gument may  not  improperly  be  taken  from  the  discoveries  of  natu- 
ral reason,  and  on  some  points,  like  that  of  a  future  state  of  retribu- 
tion, even  the  universal  consent  of  mankind,  and  the  earliest  tradi- 
23 


182  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

tions,  that  have  as  yet  been  traced  in  any  country,  may  not  implau- 
sibly be  pleaded.  Sometimes  ecclesiastical  history  will  furnish  a 
head  of  argument.  This  happens  especially  when  the  question  re- 
lates to  any  usages  or  ceremonies  that  have  obtained,  or  to  the 
manner  of  celebrating  any  of  the  positive  institutions.  But  the 
principal  foundation  of  argument  for  the  preacher  will  always  be 
the  sacred  scripture.  This  is  true  whatever  be  the  controverted 
doctrine,  since  in  order  to  entitle  it  to  a  discussion  from  the  pulpit, 
it  ought  to  be  a  doctrine  in  which  the  faith  or  morals  of  a  Christian 
are  concerned.  If  the  tenet  maintained  be  purely  a  point  of  reve- 
lation, the  scripture  is  in  a  manner  the  preacher's  only  ground,  on 
which  his  reasonings  can  be  built.  From  this  also  different  topics 
of  argument  may  be  raised,  either  from  different  passages,  or  from 
the  different  lights  in  which  it  is  in  holy  writ  exhibited,  as  suits  the 
nature  of  the  subject. 

In  arguing  from  the  divine  oracles,  great  care  ought  to  be  taken 
that  we  quote  and  interpret  them  candidly  ;  in  other  words,  that  we 
give  always  what,  according  to  the  best  of  our  judgment,  is  the  real 
sense  of  the  sacred  author.  Preachers,  I  know,  will  sometimes 
make  a  very  plausible  appearance  of  supporting  their  side  of  the 
question  by  a  passage  of  scripture,  which  in  the  detached  way 
wherein  they  quote  it,  appears  very  favourable,  but  which,  taken  in 
connection  with  its  context,  means  something  totally  distinct.  For 
my  own  part,  were  the  doctrine  meant  to  be  defended  ever  so  truly 
a  scriptural  doctrine,  I  could  not  approve  an  attempt  to  support  it 
by  such  a  misapplication  of  holy  writ,  and  consequently  by  mislead- 
ing the  hearers  in  regard  to  the  sense  of  particular  portions  of  scrip- 
ture. This  is  like  bringing  people  to  submission  to  magistracy,  by 
perverting  the  sense  of  the  law  ;  and  though  a  person  may  be  fight- 
ing in  a  good  cause,  one,  who  takes  this  method,  fights  with  illicit 
weapons.  If  it  be  safer  to  be  under  God's  direction,  than  under 
any  man's,  it  must  be  safer  to  exhibit  to  the  people  the  sense  of  the 
sacred  oracles  purely  and  candidly,  leaving  it  to  them  to  form  the 
conclusions  and  make  the  application.  This  I  take  to  be  preach- 
ing not  ourselves,  but  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord,  and  ourselves  the  peo- 
ple's servants  for  Jesus's  sake.  The  contrary  method  is  indeed 
preaching  ourselves,  it  is  abounding  in  our  own  sense,  and  even 
wresting  the  word  of  Christ  to  render  it  subservient  to  our  opinions. 
I  would  not  by  any  means,  however,  be  understood  to  pass  so  severe 
a  censure  on  the  misapplication  of  a  passage  of  scripture  arising 
from  a  mistake  of  the  sense,  a  thing  to   which  the  wisest  and  the 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  183 

best  are  liable,  but  only  on  an  intended  misrepresentation  of  the 
true  meaning,  in  order  to  make  it  serve  as  evidence  of  a  point  we 
are  maintaining.  That  I  may  be  better  understood  in  the  aim  of 
this  remark,  I  shall  produce  an  example  in  the  way  of  illustration. 
In  support  of  this  doctrine,  that  whatever  is  done  by  unbelievers, 
even  those  actions  which  are  commonly  accounted  most  laudable 
and  virtuous,  are  of  the  nature  of  sin  ;  it  has  been  sometimes  very 
gravely  and  very  confidently  urged,  that  the  apostle  says  expressly 
(Rom.  xiv.  23)  "  Whatsoever  is  not  of  faith  is  sin."  Yet  this  ex- 
pression (however  apposite  it  may  appear,  when  cut  off  from  the 
passage  with  which  it  stands  connected)  has  not  the  remotest  rela- 
tion to  that  famous  question.  When  recourse  is  had  to  the  apostle 
himself,  and  the  occasion  of  the  aflfirmation,  we  find  it  is  brought  in 
the  conclusion  of  his  reasoning,  in  regard  to  a  point  much  disputed 
in  that  early  age  of  the  church,  the  observance  of  a  distinction  in 
meats  and  days.  And  though  the  apostle  explicitly  declares  his 
own  conviction,  that  no  kind  of  meat  is  in  a  religious  view  unclean 
of  itself,  yet  he  is  equally  clear,  that  to  him  who  esteemeth  any 
thing  to  be  unclean,  to  him  it  is  unclean,  because  he  believes  it  to 
be  so.  Hence  he  justly  concludes,  that  he  who  doubteth  is  liable 
to  condemnation,  if  he  eat;  because  he  acts  against  the  dictates  of 
his  conscience,  even  though  a  misinformed  conscience,  he  himself 
not  believing  that  he  does  right,  "  for,"  he  adds,  "  whatever  is  not 
of  faith  is  sin ;"  whatever  action  is  not  accompanied  with  a  belief 
of  its  lawfulness,  is  so  far  criminal,  as  it  shows  in  him,  who  commits 
it,  a  presumptuous  disposition  to  violate  the  rights  of  conscience. 
But  this  has  not  the  least  reference  to  the  belief  of  the  principles, 
tenets,  or  doctrines  of  Christianity,  but  merely  of  the  lawfulness  or 
unlawfulness  of  certain  actions.  It  deserves  also  to  be  remarked, 
that,  in  the  matter  discussed  by  the  apostle,  it  is  of  no  consequence, 
for  rendering  the  action  virtuous  or  vicious,  whether  the  things  be- 
lieved be  true  or  false  ;  but  barely  that  they  be  believed,  and  that 
our  practice  be  conformable  to  our  belief.  To  act  against  convic- 
tion or  belief,  he  tells  us,  is  a  sin,  to  forbear  acting  in  such  a  case 
is  a  duty,  even  though  the  thing  believed  be  a  falsehood.  Nay  it 
is,  in  fact,  against  what  he  himself  acknowledgeth  to  be  an  errone- 
ous faith,  that  he  declares  the  man  justly  condernnable  who  acts. 
Now  when  such  a  perversion  of  the  sacred  text,  as  I  have  been  il- 
lustrating, is  made  knowingly  by  the  speaker  against  his  better 
judgment,  it  is  without  doubt  what  the  apostle  calls  *'  handling  the 
word  of  God  deceitfully,"  even  though  the  sentiment,  in  support  of 


tMi  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

which  it  is  produced,  be  a  true  sentiment,  and  conformable  to  the 
doctrine  of  Holy  Writ.  There  is  a  candour  and  simplicity,  which 
ought  ever  to  attend  the  ministry  of  religion,  not  only  in  regard  to 
the  ends  pursued,  but  in  regard  to  the  means  employed  for  the  at- 
tainment of  the  ends.  Castalio  in  the  defence  of  his  Latin  transla- 
tion of  the  Bible  against  Beza,  who  had  attacked  him  with  a  viru- 
lence which  savours  too  much  of  what,  not  greatly,  to  the  honour  of 
polemic  divinity,  has  been  called  the  odium  theologicum  (theological 
hatred,)  amongst  other  things  mentions  an  accusation,  for  trans- 
lating the  third  verse  of  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  in  this  manner, 
**  Jussit  Deus  ut  existeret  lux  et  extitit  lux,  God  commanded  that 
light  should  be,  and  light  was."  And  the  reason  of  Beza's  ani- 
madversion is,  that  in  his  opinion,  Castalio  had,  by  so  doing,  sup- 
pressed an  important  argument  for  the  trinity.  "  Moses,"  says  Be- 
za, "  purposely  used  the  verb  amar^  said,  that  he  might  indicate 
another  person  in  the  Godhead  distinct  from  the  person  of  the 
Father,  and  from  the  person  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  namely,  the  Son  of 
God,  by  whom  the  whole  series  of  creation  was  enunciated.  The 
evangelist  John,  taking  occasion  hence,  calls  him  Aoyo?  the  word, 
and  proves  him  to  be  God,  and  to  have  been  in  the  beginning  with 
God.  But  this  man,  (meaning  Castalio)  excluding  the  verb  said, 
in  which  the  greatest  moment  and  principal  weight  is  placed,  ex- 
presses only  in  his  version  the  signification  of  the  verb  ihi,  Jiat" 
Thus  far  Beza;  in  which  remark,  if  he  was  sincere,  as  we  are 
bound  in  charity  to  believe,  it  is  impossible,  whatever  his  erudition 
and  other  talents  might  be,  to  think  otherwise  than  meanly  of  his 
skill  in  criticism.  I  own  at  the  same  time  that  1  like  the  common 
translation.  Dixit  Deus,  Fiat  lux,  et  facta  est  lux,  (God  said,  Let 
there  be  light,  and  there  was  light)  much  better  than  Castalio's, 
and  that,  not  indeed  for  Beza's  reason,  which  is  no  reason  at  all, 
but  merely,  because  it  is  more  conformable  to  the  simplicity  and 
dignity  of  the  original.  Castalio's  answer  to  the  above  charge, 
though  it  would  perhaps  be  thought  too  ludicrous  for  the  serious- 
ness of  the  subject,  justly  exposes  the  absurdity  of  his  antagonist. 
"  Haec  sunt  illius  verba,  quibus  nihilo  aptius  argumentatur,  quam 
si  quis  ita  dicat ;  Moses  in  illis  verbis.  Dixit  serpens  femincD,  cur 
vobis  dixit  Deus,  £(•€.  data  opera  usus  est  verbo  amar,  dixit,  ut  al- 
teram in  diabolo  personam  distinctam  a  persona  patris,  et  a  perso- 
na spiritus  impuri,  nempe  filium  diaboli  insigniret;  nam  certe  sim- 
illinia  est  locutic*      He  subjoins  this  sentiment,  in  which  every 

^  He  argues  with  no  more  propriety  than  if  one  should  say,  Moses,  in  these 
words,  *  Thcjscrpent  said  to  the  icoman,  Hath  God  said,'  &c.  purposely  em- 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  185 

lover  of  truth  will  cordially  agree  with  him.  '*  Ego  veritatem  velim 
veris  argumentis  defendi,  non  ita  ridiculis,  quibus  deridenda  pro- 
pinetur  adversariis.*  How  much  more  modest,  in  this  respect,  was 
Calvin,  whese  zeal  for  the  doctrine  will  not  be  questioned,  than  eith- 
er Beza  or  Luther  ?  This  last  had  exclaimed  with  great  vehemence 
against  both  Jews  and  antitrinitarians,  for  not  admitting  that  in 
these  words,  in  the  first  verse  of  Genesis,  God  created,  hara  EIo- 
Mm,  there  is  contained  a  proof  of  the  trinity,  because  the  noun,  sig- 
nifying God,  in  the  Hebrew  has  a  plural  form,  though  joined  to  a 
verb  in  the  singular.  Calvin  on  the  contrary  refutes  this  argument, 
or  quibble  rather,  at  some  length,  and  adds  judiciously,  speaking  of 
this  expression,  "  Monendi  sunt  lectores  ut  sibi  a  violentis  ejusmo- 
di  glossis  caveant."  (Readers  should  be  on  their  guard  against 
such  forced  glosses.)  I  remember  once  to  have  heard  a  sort  of  lec- 
ture, on  the  miraculous  cure  of  Bartimeus's  blindness  from  perhaps 
the  most  popular  preacher,  I  cannot  add  the  most  judicious,  that 
has  appeared  in  this  island  in  the  present  century.  From  these 
words  of  the  blind  man,  addressed  to  Jesus,  who  had  asked  him, 
what  he  would  have  done  for  him?  "  Lord,  that  1  may  receive  my 
sight,"  the  preacher  inferred  not  only  the  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ, 
but  Bartimeus's  faith  in  this  article.  '*  He  could  not,"  said  he, 
*'  have  given  him  the  appellation  Lord  Kvfn,  had  he  not  believed 
him  to  be  God."  And  yet  Mary  gave  the  same  appellation  Kup<g 
to  Jesus,  when  she  took  him  for  no  higher  person  than  a  gardener. 
The  same  appellation  was  given  by  the  jailer  to  Paul  and  Silas,  the 
prisoners  under  his  care,  Kvpioi.  In  the  first  of  these  places  our 
translators  have  rightly  rendered  it  Sir — in  the  second.  Sirs.  Indeed 
it  is  notorious,  that  both  in  the  Greek  version  of  the  Old  Testament 
and  in  the  New,  the  word  like  Dominus  in  Latin,  or  Signore,  in 
Italian,  is  applied  indiscriminately,  as  a  term  of  respect  to  God  or 
to  man.  I  own  I  could  not  help  concluding  in  my  own  mind  from 
the  remark.  Either  you  must  be  exceedingly  ignorant  in  regard  to 
the  book  you  pretend  to  explain,  or  you  treat  sacred  writ  with  a 
freedom  and  artifice,  that  suit  better  the  subtlety  of  the  Jesuit,  than 
the  sincerity  of  the  Christian  divine.     If  a  man  wanted  to  render 

ployed  the  word  amar,  said,  that  he  might  point  out  another  person  in  the 
devil  distinct  from  the  person  of  the  father  and  from  the  person  of  the  un- 
clean spirit,  namely,  the  son  of  the  devil.  For  certainly  the  form  of  expres- 
sion is  very  similar. 

*  I  wish  the  truth  to  be  defended  with  sound  arguments ;  not  with  such  ri- 
diculous ones  as  will  bring  it  into  contempt  with  adversaries. 


186  CAMPBELL  S  LECTURES. 

truth  suspicious  to  people  of  discernment,  I  know  no  better  way  he 
could  take,  than  to  recur  to  such  cavils  in  order  to  support  it. 

But  to  return  to  the  method  of  treating  the  proofs,  from  which,  I 
am  afraid,  1  shall  be  thought  to  have  digressed  too  long.  I  observ- 
ed on  entering  on  this  article,  that  when  the  controversy  is  reduci- 
ble to  one  simple  point,  and  when  there  is  only  one  opposing  senti- 
ment to  be  refuted,  the  preacher  might  make  the  refutation  of  ob- 
jections the  first  head  of  discourse,  and  the  defence  of  the  doctrine 
proposed  the  second.  And  if  nothing  can  be  said,  in  refutation, 
but  what  will  naturally  find  a  place  in  treating  his  argument,  there 
is  no  necessity  that  the  discourse  should  be  divided  into  separate 
heads.  One  conclusive  argument  in  many  cases,  is  as  good  as  a 
great  number  ;  for  every  part  does  not  admit  variety.  Nor  ought  a 
division  into  different  heads  to  be  considered  as  a  thing  indispensa- 
ble. Sometimes  indeed  when  there  is  but  one  argument,  it  will 
very  properly  admit  a  division,  as  the  conclusiorl  rests  on  two  prop- 
ositions called  premises ;  when  neither  of  these  can  be  said  to  be 
self-evident,  it  may  be  made  the  subject  of  the  first  head,  to  support 
one  of  the  premises,  and  of  the  second,  to  support  the  other.  T  shall 
borrow  an  instance  from  a  late  attempt  of  my  own  in  this  way,  as 
no  other  at  present  occurs  to  my  memory.  The  design  was  to 
evince  the  divinity  of  our  religion  from  the  success  of  its  first  pub- 
lishers. The  argument  stood  thus.  "  First,  the  natural  means 
originally  employed  in  propagating  the  gospel  were  utterly  inade- 
quate, and  must  have  proved  ineffectual,  if  unaccompanied  with 
the  divine  interposition.  Secondly,  the  means  employed  were  how- 
ever, eminently  effectual  beyond  all  example  before  or  since.  Con- 
sequently they  were  accompanied  with  a  divine  interposition,  and 
our  religion  is  of  God."  But  every  argument  does  not  admit  this 
division ;  for  often  one  of  the  premises  is  either  self-evident,  or 
which  amounts  to  the  same,  received  by  those  against  whom  we 
argue.  On  the  contrary,  when  the  subject  is  complex  and  the 
opinions  of  the  adversaries  various,  it  will  be  better  not  to  make  a 
separate  head  of  refutation,  for  where  there  are  many  jarring  senti- 
ments to  be  set  aside  there  is  a  danger  of  distracting  the  mind  by 
multiplicity.  Let  the  truth  be  defended  by  arguments  distinctly 
explained,  and  enforced,  and  in  doing  this,  especially  when  the 
topics  are  drawn  from  holy  writ,  occasion  may  be  taken  of  refuting 
the  contradictory  glosses  or  expositions  of  the  opponents  as  you  pro- 
ceed. In  this  the  preacher  ought  to  consult  carefully,  what  will 
give  most  simplicity  and  perspicuity  to  his  reasoning.     Further,  a 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  187 

question  is  sometimes  capable  of  being  divided  into  two,  or  more, 
distinct  though  intimately  related  questions.  In  that  case  the 
heads  of  discourse  may  be  the  examination  of  each.  When  the  ar- 
guments are  numerous,  it  is  better  to  class  them  under  a  few  gener- 
al heads  or  topics  for  the  sake  of  memory,  as  those  from  leason, 
those  from  scripture,  and  the  like. 

As  to  the  arrangement  of  the  arguments,  there  may  sometimes  be 
in  them  a  natural  order,  as  when  a  right  apprehension  of  one  is 
previously  necessary  to  the  full  conception  of  another.  When  they 
are  not  of  this  kind,  the  speaker  ought  to  consider  the  disposition 
of  his  hearers.  If  their  prejudices  rather  oppose  his  doctrine,  he 
would  need  to  begin  with  what  he  thinks  will  have  the  greatest 
weight  with  them,  lest  otherwise,  by  introducing  the  debate  with 
what  they  shall  think  frivolous,  he  should  disgust  them  in  the  entry, 
and  avert  their  attention  from  what  he  has  further  to  offer.  In  gen- 
eral, rhetoricians  have  recommended  to  begin  and  end  with  the 
strongest  arguments,  and  throw  the  weakest  into  the  middle.  It  is 
as  important,  that  you  should  leave  a  good  impression  on  their  minds 
in  ending  the  debate,  as  that  you  should  bespeak  their  favourable 
attention  by  what  is  of  consequence  in  the  beginning.  They  would 
have  the  orator  act,  in  this  respect,  like  the  experienced  commander, 
who  puts  his  weakest  troops  into  the  middle  ;  for  though  he  has  not 
the  same  dependance  on  them,  as  on  those  in  the  front  and  the  rear, 
he  knows  they  are  of  some  use  by  their  number,  and  add  to  the 
formidable  appearance  of  his  army. 

The  conclusion  here  may  very  properly  be  introduced  by  an  ab- 
stract or  recapitulation  of  the  argument,  followed  with  a  suitable 
improvement  of  the  doctrine  proved.  There  does  not  seem  to  be 
any  material  difference,  in  what  constitutes  a  fit  conclusion  to  an 
explanatory  discourse,  from  what  would  suit  a  controversial  one. 
Doctrine  is  the  general  subject  of  both  discourses.  In  the  one  it 
is  explained,  in  the  other  it  is  proved.  The  direct  aim  of  the  first 
is  knowledge,  but  then  the  conviction  or  belief  is  taken  for  granted. 
The  direct  aim  of  the  second  is  conviction.  In  both,  the  proper 
application  is  the  influence  which  the  knowledge  and  belief  of  such  a 
truth  ought  to  have  on  our  dispositions,  and  on  our  practice.  Perhaps 
in  the  conclusion  of  controversial  discussions,  it  might  not  be  amiss 
to  offer  some  observations  with  a  view  to  moderate  the  unchristian 
animosities,  which  differences  on  these  articles  sometimes  occasion 
among  those,  who  all  profess  themselves  to  be  the  disciples  of  the 
same  Master,  and  to  shew  in  general  that  error  is  more  properly  a 
ground  of  pity  than  of  indignation. 


188  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

LECTURE  XI. 

Of  Commendatory  Discourses,  or  those  addressed  to  the  Imagination. 

We  have  now  discussed  the  discourses  addressed  to  the  under- 
standing, those  two  especially,  the  explanatory,  whose  end  is  infor- 
mation, by  dispelling  ignorance,  and  the  controversial,  whose  end 
is  conviction,  by  vanquishing  doubt  or  error.  I  come  now  to  that 
species  which  is  addressed  to  the  imagination.  For  as  one  way, 
and  indeed  a  very  powerful  way,  of  recommending  religion  is  by 
example,  it  must  be  conducive  to  the  general  end  of  preaching  above 
mentioned,  to  make  it  sometimes  the  scope  of  a  sermon,  to  exhibit 
properly  any  known  good  character  of  a  person  now  deceased  by 
giving  a  lively  narrative  of  his  life,  or  of  any  signal  period  of  his  life, 
or  an  account  of  any  particular  virtue,  as  illustrated  through  the  dif- 
ferent periods  of  his  life.  For  performances  of  this  kind,  the  history 
of  our  Lord  affords  the  richest  fund  of  matter.  In  like  manner,  the 
lives  of  the  saints  recorded  in  scripture,  the  patriarchs,  the  prophets, 
the  apostles  and  the  martyrs,  such  at  least  with  which,  from  the  ac- 
counts given  in  holy  writ,  we  have  it  in  our  power  to  be  acquainted, 
make  very  proper  subjects.  Add  to  these,  deceased  persons  eminent 
for  virtue  and  piety,  whose  characters  are  well  known  to  the  people 
addressed.  Panegyrics  of  this  kind  on  departed  friends  were  more 
in  use  formerly,  and  commonly  distinguished  by  the  name  of  funer- 
al orations.  As  praise  of  this  kind  was  however  sometimes  prostitut- 
ed, and  as  the  usage  itself  in  certain  circumstances  exposed  the 
preacher  to  the  temptation  of  making  a  sacrifice  of  truth  from  motives 
of  interest,  it  is  perhaps,  upon  the  whole,  no  disadvantage  to  the  min- 
isterial character,  that  the  practice  is,  in  this  country,  almost  entirely 
laid  aside,  and  that  we  are  now  very  much  confined  in  this  respect 
to  the  examples  which  the  sacred  canon  presents  us  with.  Now  to 
do  justice  to  the  respectable  qualities  and  worthy  actions  of  the  good, 
is  to  present  the  audience  with  a  beauteous  and  animated  pattern  of 
Christian  excellence,  which,  by  operating  on  their  admiration  and 
love,  raiseth  in  their  minds  a  pious  emulation.  That  we  are,  with- 
out attending  to  it,  induced  to  imitate  what  we  admire  and  love, 
will  not  admit  a  question.  It  might  not  want  its  use,  though  scrip- 
ture hath  not  afforded  here  so  large  foundation  or  so  ample  materi- 
als, to  delineate  sometimes,  in  proper  colours,  the  conduct  of  the 
vicious,  with  its  natural  consequences,  in  order  to  excite  a  proper 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  189 

degree  of  horror  and  detestation  against  vice.  Bat  this,  it  must  be 
owned,  would  require  to  be  handled  still  more  tenderly.  It  is  our 
duty  to  love  and  esteem  the  virtuous,  but  not  to  hate  and  abhor  the 
vicious.  Our  hatred  and  abhorrence  ought  to  be  pointed  only 
against  vice,  but  not  against  the  persons  addicted  to  it ;  whom,  in 
pity,  we  ought  rather  to  study  to  reclaim.  And  though  the  indi- 
viduals themselves  should  be  dead,  and  consequently  in  this  respect 
beyond  our  power,  whatever  bears  the  odious  appearance  of  calum- 
ny and  personal  invective  is  quite  unbecoming  the  pulpit.  Exhi- 
bitions in  either  way  from  the  pulpit  form  that  species  of  discourses, 
which  falls'under  the  third  class  above  enumerated.  They  are  ad- 
dressed to  the  fancy,  and  their  scope  is  to  promote  piety  and  virtue 
by  insinuation,  that  is,  by  the  gentle  but  efficacious  influence  of  ex- 
ample. Discourses  of  this  kind  were  distinguished  among  the  an- 
cients by  the  name  demonstrative  ;  but  as  that  word  in  our  language 
is  rather  equivocal,  I  have  chosen  to  denominate  them,  commen- 
datory ^  from  the  purpose  to  which  they  are  most  commonly  ap- 
plied. 

In  regard  to  the  choice  of  a  text^  as  there  is  here  sometimes  great- 
er difficulty  of  uniting  all  the  qualities,  which  were  formerly  men- 
tioned, as  characteristical  of  a  proper  text,  greater  indulgence  must 
be  given.  At  any  rate,  let  it  be  perspicuous  and  expressive  of  the 
happiness  or  amiableness  of  a  well  spent  life,  or  of  those  virtues 
which  the  discourse  itself  will  give  principal  scope  for  ektoHing. 
An  appositeness  to  the  individual  person,  who  is  the  subject  of  the 
sermon,  when  it  is  a  funeral  oration,  cannot  be  had,  and  therefore, 
an  appositeness  to  the  character  is  all  that  can  be  sought.  When 
the  person,  who  is  the  subject,  is  one  of  the  scripture  saints,  it  is 
better  to  choose  for  a  text  some  passage,  wherein  he  in  particular  is 
spoken  of.  As  to  the  introduction  or  exordium,  there  does  not  seem 
to  be  any  thing  very  special  requisite  in  this  kind.  The  common 
qualities  that  ought  to  affect  introductions  in  general  have  equally 
place  here.  They  should  be  calculated  to  render  the  hearers  at- 
tentive, docile  and  benevolent. 

With  regard  to  the  explanation  of  the  text  and  context,  unless 
they  could  in  some  way  contribute  to  the  illustration  of  the  charac- 
ter, which  is  the  subject  of  the  eulogy,  it  were  better  not  to  attempt 
it.  If  the  text  be  sufficiently  perspicuous  and  apposite,  there  ca» 
be  no  necessity  ;  and  there  is  no  sort  of  discourse  to  which  an^y 
thing,  that  has  the  remotest  appearance  of  verbal  criticism  is  worses 

24 


190  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

adapted  than  to  this.  The  design  of  the  sermon  should  be  propos- 
ed with  simplicity  and  distinctness.  One  may  add  the  mention  of 
the  method,  in  which  it  may  be  thought  proper  to  prosecute  the  sub- 
ject, unless  it  shall  appear  to  be  so  simple  and  natural,  as  to  render 
even  the  bare  intimation  of  it  superfluous. 

As  to  the  method  in  which  the  different  parts  should  be  digested 
and  arranged,  that  may  be  different  as  suits  the  particular  taste  and 
talents  of  the  speaker,  or  as  suits  best  the  materials  he  hath  to  work 
upon.  All  the  methods  that  occur  to  me  for  treating  subjects  of 
this  kind,  may  be  reduced  to  the  three  following.  First,  the  order 
of  time  may  be  followed.  This  method  I  shall  call  the  historical. 
If  this  be  the  disposition  adopted,  there  can  be  no  question  as  to 
what  should  precede  and  what  should  succeed  in  the  discourse.  If 
there  be  much  ground  to  go  upon,  it  may  not  be  amiss,  for  the  ease 
of  the  memory,  to  divide  the  life  you  are  to  recommend  as  a  pattern, 
into  certain  distinct  periods,  proposing  to  consider  each  severally 
in  its  order.  If  the  materials  you  are  supplied  with  for  this  purpose 
are  not  very  plentiful,  or  if,  whatever  has  been  remarkable  in  the 
person's  life  which  can  be  of  any  service  to  you,  is  comprised  with- 
in a  narrow  compass  of  time,  it  will  be  better  to  follow  the  natural 
order,  without  using  the  formality  of  proposing  it  to  the  hearers, 
or  dividing  the  discourse  into  separate  heads,  for  this  ought 
never  to  be  considered  as  absolutely  necessary.  The  second  meth- 
od of  arrangement  is,  by  considering  separately  the  most  emi- 
nent virtues  displayed  in  the  life  you  propose  to  recommend  to  the 
admiration  of  your  hearers.  This  I  shall  call  the  logical  meihodi. 
Suppose  the  subject,  for  example,  were  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ,  and 
one  were  inclined  to  divide  the  virtues  thereby  illustrated  into  three 
classes,  those  which  have  self  for  the  immediate'object,  those  which 
have  other  men,  and  those  which  have  God.  The  greatest  objec- 
tion I  know  of,  that  lies  against  this  method,  is,  that  it  generally  oc- 
casions frequent  recurring  to  the  same  actions  and  events,  in  which 
different  virtues  may  have  been  illustrated.  This,  unless  managed 
very  dexterously,  will  have  the  appearance  of  tiresome  repetitions. 
But  to  return  to  the  example  given  of  the  life  of  Christ.  Each  of 
the  heads  above  named  may  be  illustrated  through  all  the  different 
periods  of  his  life,  or  they  may  be  subdivided  into  inferior  branches. 
For  example,  the  first  of  these,  the  duties  a  man  owes  to  himself,  may 
be  understood  to  imply  the  virtues  of  humility,  temperance  and  forti- 
tude ;  humility  or  a  superiority  to  pride  and  vanity  ;  temperance  or  a 
superiority  to  appetite;  and  fortitude  or  a  superiority  to  fear.     But 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  191 

such  subdivisions  are  not  often  convenient,  in  as  much  as  they  com- 
monly tend  more  to  burden  than  to  assist  the  memory.  If  the  preacher 
were  to  make  one  of  the  general  heads  only,  the  whole  subject  of  one 
discourse  such  a  division  of  that  head  would  be  very  proper.  But  if 
the  whole  example  of  Christ  is  the  subject  of  a  single  discourse,  the 
case  is  very  different.  Subdivisions  for  the  greater  part  ought  to  be 
avoided.  The  sort  of  discourse,  to  which  they  seem  most  adapted,  is 
the  explanatory,  whose  principal  excellence  appears  to  be  in  perspi- 
cuity and  precision.  Let  it  be  observed,  however,  that  the  method 
implied  in  a  subdivision  may  often  be  conveniently  followed,  when  it 
is  not  in  so  many  words  proposed.  A  third  method,  that  may  ba 
employed  in  panegyrical  discourses,  as  when  two  or  three  memora- 
ble events  or  actions  are  the  sole  fund,  from  which  all  the  materials 
employed  by  the  encomiast  must  be  derived,  is  to  illustrate  the  vir- 
tues displayed  in  the  person's  conduct,  on  these  several  occasions, 
as  the  separate  heads  of  discourse.  And  this  method  may,  for  dis- 
tinction's sake,  be  denominated,  the  dramatical.  As  to  the  man- 
ner of  prosecuting  the  design  through  all  its  different  branches,  I  do 
not  intend  to  enter  into  particulars.  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  give  a 
full  institute  of  eloquence,  but  only  to  apply  to  the  pulpit,  as  far  as 
they  are  applicable,  the  general  rules  laid  down  by  the  ancients,  re- 
ferring you  to  their  writings  for  the  illustration,  and  particularly  to 
remark  to  you  the  differences  which  the  very  different  nature  of  the 
subject,  of  the  occasion,  of  the  end,  of  the  character,  to  be  support- 
ed by  the  speaker,  and  of  the  character  of  the  audience,  should 
give  rise  to.  Now  it  must  be  acknowledged,  that  no  sort  of  dis- 
course from  the  pulpit  hath  so  close  a  resemblance  in  respect  both 
of  the  subject  and  of  the  end,  and  sometimes  also  of  the  occasion,  to 
the  judicial  and  deliberative  orations,  as  this  sort  of  encomiums  hath 
to  the  demonstrative  orations  of  the  ancients.  To  their  institutes, 
therefore,  I  must  refer  you  for  more  particular  information.  It  is 
not  my  intention  by  these  lectures  to  supersede  the  study  of  an- 
cient critics  and  orators,  but  only  to  assist  you  in  applying  their 
rules  and  examples  to  cases  so  different  from  those  with  which  alone 
they  were  concerned.  I  shall,  therefore,  in  these  discourses, 
insist  chiefly  on  what  is  different  and  peculiar  in  the  eloquence  of 
the  pulpit. 

And  here,  one  of  the  first  diffoccnces  that  offers  itself  to  our  ob- 
servation, is,  that  the  ancients  had  a  much  wider  range  in  what 
might  properly  be  made  the  subject  of  their  praises.  Pedigree,  in- 
tellectual abilities,  even  qualities  merely  corporeal,  such  as  beauty, 


192  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

health,  strength,  agility,  nay  those  commonly  called  the  goods  of 
fortune,  as  riches,  friends,  rank,  all  came  in  for  a  share  in  the  en- 
comium.    I  do   not  deny  that  any  of  these  may  passingly  be  men- 
tioned in  a  sermon,  but  it  would  ill  become  the  dignity  of  the  sa- 
cred function,  to  enlarge  on  these  qualities  in  such  a  manner,  as  to 
seem  to  place  a  merit  in  things,  which  are  totally  independent  of 
our  will,  and  of  which  therefore  the  commendation  in  another  can 
be  of  no  service    to  a  hearer  in  the  way  of  example  ;  but  may,  on 
the  contrary,  very  readily  do  hurt  in  teaching  him  to  place  an  un- 
due value  on  things  not  in  his  power,  and  about  which,  as  a  Chris- 
tian, he  ought  not  to  have  the  least  anxiety.     Nothing,  therefore, 
must  appear  to  be  the  subject  of  panegyric  to  the  preacher,  but 
moral  excellence.     Nothing  ought  to  be  enlarged  on  as  a  topic  of 
discourse,  but  what  can  properly  be  held  up  to  the  audience  as  a 
subject,  which    it   is   encumbent  on    them    to   imitate ;    in  other 
words,  as  the  object  of  a  noble  emulation.     I   acknowledge,    that 
those  other  qualities,  accidental  in  respect  of  us,  as  1  may  call  them, 
which   have  no  necessary  connection  with  virtue  or  religion,  and 
are  only  physically  good,  may  find  a  place  in  a  discourse  of  this  kind, 
when  they  are  introduced  not  for  their  own  sakes,  but,  as  it  were, 
in  passing,  and  in  order  to  set  off  real  virtues.     Thus  the  high  birth 
of  the  person   you    extol,  may  be   mentioned  in  order  to  add  the 
greater  lustre  to  his  humility  ;    his  riches  may  be  taken  notice  of 
by  the  way,  in  order  to  shew  how  well  he  understood  the  proper 
use  of  wealth,  and  in  order  to  set  off  to  the  greater   advantage  how 
moderate  he  was  in  regard  to  gratifications  merely  personal,    and 
how  liberal  and  charitable  in  supplying  the  wants  and  contributing 
to  the  accommodation  and  comfort  of  others.     It  will  be  easily  un- 
derstood, that  in  the  same  way,   almost  every  such  advantage  of 
person  or  fortune  may  be  introduced.     This  would  not  be    to  ex- 
hibit wealth  or  nobleness  of  birth,  as  an  object  calculated  to  excite 
the  ambition  of  the  hearers,  a  thing  exceedingly  absurd  in  any,  but 
more  especially  in  the  preacher  of  the  humble  religion  of  Jesus  ; 
but  it  would  be  to  give  an  instructive  lesson  to  the  rich  and  noble, 
in  regard  to  the  use  they  ought  to  make  of  these  advantages.     It 
must  be  owned,  on  the  other  hand,  that  qualities  physically  bad  may 
be  rendered  instrumental  for  the  same  purpose  of  giving  higher  re- 
lief to  the  virtues  of  the  character.     Thus  the  poverty  of  the  person 
may  serve  greatly  to  enhance  and  recommend  his  patience,  his  con- 
tentment, his  resignation,  his  prudence,  his  economy,  nay  even  his 
pharity  and  beneficeqce.     In  like  manner,  low  birth  and  want  of 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  193 

education  may  be  made  subservient  to  display  to  more  advantage 
the  industry  and  application  of  mind,  which  could  surmount  these 
sio-nal  disadvantages  so  perfectly,  that  the  defect  could  never  have 
been  discovered  from  his  behaviour  and  conversation.  And  of 
this  kind,  we  should  say,  as  of  the  former,  it  is  not  recommending 
poverty  and  inferiority  in  point  of  birth  to  our  estimation,  but  it  is 
exhibiting  a  pattern  to  the  poor  and  ignoble,  whereby  they  may  be 
instructed,  how  to  convert  such  apparent  evils  into  real  occasions  of 
improving  their  virtues,  and  of  rendering  these  more  than  a  suffi- 
cient compensation  for  every  want.  The  ancient  rhetoricians, 
though  not  so  delicate  on  this  point  as  Christian  teachers  ought  to 
be,  were  yet  sensible,  that  this  was  the  best  use  that  could  be  made 
of  fortuitous  advantages  or  disadvantages.  Thus  Q,uintilian,  "  Et 
corporis  quidem,  fortuitorumque,  cum  levior,  turn  non  uno  modo 
tractanda  laus  est.  Interim  confert  admirationi  multum  etiam  in- 
firmitas,  ut  cum  Homerus,  Tydea  parvum  sed  bellatorem  dicit 
fuisse.  Fortuna  vero  cum  dignitatem  affert  (namque  est  haec  ma- 
teria ostendendse  virtutis  uberior)  tum  quo  minores  opes  fuerunt, 
eo  majorem  benefactis  gloriam  parit."*  The  following  sentiment  is 
indeed  excellent,  and  well  deserves  our  attention.  *'  Sed  omnia 
quae  extra  nos  bona  sunt,  quaeque  hominibus  forte  obtigerunt,  non 
ideo  laudantur,  quod  habuerit  qui  eas,  sed  quod  his  honeste  sit 
usus.  Nam  divitiae  et  potentia  et  gratia,  cum  plurimum  verium 
dent  in  utramque  partem,  certissimum  faciunt  morum  experimen- 
tum  :  aut  enim  n.eliores  propter  haec,  aut  bejores  sumus."t 

In  regard  to  this  species  of  discourse,  as  the  immediate  object  is 
to  please  by  presenting  to  the  imagination  a  beautiful  and  finished 
picture  in  suitable  colouring,  it  admits,  from  the  nature  of  it,  more 
of  ornament,,  than  any  other  kind  delivered  from  the  pulpit.  There 
are  few  of  the  tropes  and  figures  of  eloquence,  that  may  not  proper- 
ly find  admission  here.     This  is  a  kind  of  moral  painting  :  and 

*  Of  the  body  also  and  of  adventitious  circumstances  the  commendation  is 
both  lighter,  and  is  not  to  be  treated  in  an  uniform  manner.  Sometimes  even 
the  mention  of  an  infirmity  may  add  much  to  our  admiration  of  the  character  ; 
as  when  Homer  says  of  Tydcus,  that  he  was  small  of  stature,  but  of  great 
bravery.  Fortune  too  may  confer  dignity  ;  but  the  smaller  a  person's  means 
are,  the  greater  the  praise  for  the  benefits  he  bestows. 

t  For  all  those  advantages  which  are  external  and  which  are  fortuitous,  a 
person  is  not  praised  because  he  possessed  them,  but  because  he  rightly  em- 
ployed them.  For  riches,  and  power,  and  reputation,  while  they  very  much 
increase  our  ability  either  for  good  or  for  evil,  prove  a  most  certain  trial  of  our 
moral  qualities;  since  by  their  means  we  either  become  better  or  worse. 


194  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

greater  allowance  is  made  for  introducing  things  which  serve  mere- 
ly the  purpose  of  decoration,  when  the  immediate  object  is  to  de- 
light. Here  too  there  is  generally  more  indulgence  in  point  of 
style,  that  can  be  admitted  in  any  other  species  of  sermon.  In  re- 
spect of  flowers  and  harmony,  this  kind  borders  even  on  the  poeti- 
cal. Yet  still  it  must  be  remembered,  that  this  indulgence  hath  its 
bound.  Whatever  soars  above  the  reach  of  the  congregation,  what- 
ever appears  either  unintelligible  or  affected,  is  still  faulty  and  of- 
fensive. I  observe  further  that  in  regard  to  the  very  ornaments, 
of  which  the  different  sorts  of  discourses  are  susceptible,  such  as 
metaphors,  comparisons,  examples,  these  in  the  thoughts,  as  well 
as  in  the  language,  should  be  different  in  the  different  kinds.  In 
the  explanatory,  all  the  borrowed  illustrations  and  similitudes  ought 
to  be  from  things  familiar  and  simple,  as  well  as  exhibited  in  a  dis- 
tinct and  easy  manner.  In  the  controversial  kind  the  simplicity 
and  perspicuity  of  the  decorations,  though  still  of  consequence,  are 
not  so  much  regarded,  as  a  certain  forcible  manner  of  impressing 
the  imagination,  so  as  to  carry  conviction  along  with  them.  The 
similes  here  ought  to  be  all  a  kind  of  analogical  argument.  Again, 
in  the  commendatory  discourses,  whose  end  is  neither  to  inform 
nor  to  convince,  but  to  please,  the  principal  quality  in  the  fund  of 
the  imagery  to  be  employed  is  its  beauty.  No  metaphor,  however 
like  or  apposite,  ought  ever  to  be  admitted  here,  that  is  not  taken 
from  an  agreeable  object.  Under  the  general  term  agreeable,  I 
must  be  understood  to  comprehend,  not  only  the  beautiful,  strictly 
so  called,  but  also  the  grand,  the  sublime,  the  wonderful  and  the 
new,  if  with  these  qualities  there  be  not  connected  any  thing  that 
is  disagreeable,  mean,  ugly  or  deformed. 

As  to  the  manner  of  concluding  discourses  of  this  kind,  any  one, 
or  two,  or  even  all  of  the  three  following  may  be  adopted,  accord- 
ing as  the  preacher  shall  judge  most  suitable,  to  the  time,  the  sub- 
ject and  the  occasion.  First,  you  may  make  out,  from  the  actions 
and  behaviour  you  have  been  delineating,  a  clear  and  distinct 
character  of  the  person.  Or,  Secondly,  you  may  introduce  a  con- 
trast between  the  conduct  of  the  person  commended  in  some  of 
the  most  memorable  instances,  and  that  which  there  is  reason  to 
believe  would  be  followed,  or  which  commonly  is  followed  by  the 
generality,  even  of  professing  Christians,  in  the  like  circumstances. 
Or,  thirdly,  you  may  conclude  with  a  more  direct  application  to 
the  passions  of  the  hearers,  in  order  to  excite  in  them  a  generous 
ardour  to  be  themselves,  what  they  cannot  contemplate  or  behold 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  195 

"without  admiring.  The  first  of  these  methods  is  far  the  most  dif- 
ficult. To  draw  a  character,  which  shall  be  at  once  both  just  and 
striking,  which  shall  set  the  different  features  in  the  most  conspic- 
uous point  of  view,  that  shall  mark  not  only  the  exact  turn  of  each, 
but  the  manner  wherein  they  limit  and  set  off  one  another,  requires 
indeed  the  delicate  hand  of  a  master  in  the  rhetorical  art.  It  is 
attempted  by  every  dabbler  in  historiography  ;  but  it  is  not  one  of  a 
hundred  that  succeeds.  Let  it  be  observed,  that  a  character  thus 
introduced  in  the  conclusion  of  a  sermon  of  this  kind,  ought  in  ev- 
ery part  of  it  to  be  manifestly  supported  by  the  particular  actions, 
and  conduct  delineated  in  the  discourse,  and  should  serve  to  recal 
to  the  memory  and  impress  on  it  more  strongly  those  particulars. 
As  to  the  manner,  a  good  deal  of  care  and  attention  is  necessary. 
The  prevailing  taste  at  present  seems  to  be,  to  give  the  whole  in  a 
string  of  antitheses,  the  great  dexterity  of  which  consists  in  this,  to 
make  the  contrasted  members  come  as  near  as  possible  con- 
tradicting one  another,  and  yet  escape  being  really  contradictory. 
Very  often  they  do  not  escape  this.  But  though  I  do  by  no  means 
blame  the  use  of  antithesis  in  drawing  characters,  a  matter  of  par- 
ticular nicety,  in  as  much  as  in  this  way,  when  well  executed,  the 
precise  boundaries  of  the  different  traits  are  more  precisely  ascer- 
tained, yet  a  continued  train  of  this  figure  through  successive  sen- 
tences, however  well  it  may  pass  in  history,  has  by  far  too  artificial 
and  elaborate  an  appearance  to  suit  the  seriousness  and  the  sim- 
plicity of  the  pulpit  diction.  As  much  conciseness,  as  can 
be  rendered  consistent  with  perspicuity,  is  very  suitable  here. 

The  second  kind  of  conclusion  mentioned,  by  a  contrast  between 
the  conduct  delineated  and  that  of  others,  is  often  a  very  pertinent 
application  of  the  subject,  in  as  much  as  it  makes  the  virtues  of 
another  serve  as  a  mirror  to  the  hearers  wherein  they  may  discover 
their  own  vices  and  defects.  It  deserves  only  to  be  observed  fur- 
ther on  this  article,  that  it  is  not  necessary,  that  this  part  should  be 
confined  to  the  conclusion.  When  any  thing  noble,  generous,  hu- 
mane or  pious  is  illustrated  in  the  discourse,  as  displayed  on  any 
signal  occasion,  it  may  very  properly  be  contrasted  with  the  conduct 
either  of  any  real  character  on  record,  or  of  what  we  know  from  ex- 
perience to  be  the  conduct  of  the  majority  of  Christians.  And 
this  may  be  done  in  any  part  of  the  discourse.  It  is  only  when  the 
narrative  is  both  very  affecting,  and  excites  such  an  anxiety  in  the 
hearer  for  obtaining  the  sequel  of  the  story  and  knowing  the  issue, 
that  it  is  better  not  to  interrupt  the  thread  of  the  narration,  but  to 


196  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

reserve  any  intended  contrast  to  the  conclusion.  When  a  con- 
trast can  be  found  in  true  history,  it  generally  answers  better, 
than  when  it  is  merely  hypothetical,  founded  in  coninmon  ex- 
perience. 

The  third  nnethod  of  concluding,  by  an  address  to  the  passions 
of  the  hearers,  is  the  most  common.  This  may  be  either  general 
and  have  a  relation  to  the  whole,  or  it  may  consist  of  two  or  more 
particular  addressess,  referring  respectively  to  the  different  virtues 
celebrated,  or  to  some  of  the  most  memorable  actions  related  in  the 
discourse.  Thus  nmch  may  be  said  in  general  of  all  these  differ- 
ent kinds,  that  no  observation  made,  or  motive  urged  here  can  be 
called  apposite,  unless  it  have  a  manifest  reference  to,  and  be  found- 
ed m  the  facts  related  and  the  virtues  celebrated  in  some  part  or 
other  of  the  body  of  the  discourse. 

I  must  further  observe,  that  the  pathetic  is  more  easily  attained, 
and  that  the  transition  to  it  appears  more  natural  in  the  conclusion 
of  a  commendatory  sermon,  that  in  that,  either  of  an  explanatory  dis- 
course, or  of  a  controversial.  In  these  two  kinds,  during  the 
whole  tenour  of  the  discourse,  which  is  of  a  nature  merely  specula- 
tive, the  understanding  and  memory  only  are  exerted,  as  the  whole 
consists  either  in  explanations  or  in  reasonings.  This  is  rather  un- 
favourable for  emotion,  and  it  requires  a  good  deal  of  address  to 
pass  successfully  from  the  one  to  the  other.  The  mind  cannot  all 
at  once  from  a  state  of  perfect  coolness,  enter  with  warmth  and 
keenness  into  the  views  of  the  speaker.  It  behoves  him,  therefore, 
in  beginning  such  an  address,  to  take  up  the  point  on  the  key,  if  I 
may  so  express  myself,  to  which  he  knows  their  souls  are  at  the 
time  attuned,  and  gradually  to  work  them  up  to  that  pitch  to  which 
he  wants  to  bring  them.  If  he  act  a  contrary  part,  and  break  out 
all  at  once,  with  heat  and  violence,  when  they  are  perfectly  cool, 
so  far  from  operating  on  their  affections,  or  influencing  their  will, 
he  will  appear  to  them  like  one  distracted,  who  flies  into  rage  for  he 
knows  not  what.  No  axiom  is  more  important  for  bringing  us  to 
succeed  in  the  pathetic,  than  this,  that  in  addressing  the  hearers, 
we  must  enter  with  them  on  the  subject  in  the  same  tone  to  which 
their  minds  are  predisposed  at  the  time  to  take  it  up  in,  and  then 
insensibly  work  them  up  to  ours.  A  prudent  speaker,  who  per- 
ceives a  coldness  or  indifference  in  his  audience,  will  judge  it  neces- 
sary to  disguise  his  own  warmth,  and  to  appear  willing  to  canvass 
the  matter  as  coolly  as  they  can  desire.  If  he  succeeds  thus  in  en- 
tering on  it,  and  has  the  address  for  a  little  while  to  manage  them. 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  19t 

he  may  carry  them  at  last,  to  what  pitch  he  will.  We  have  an 
excellent  example  of  this  kind  of  address,  in  the  funeral  panegyric, 
which  Shakspeare  puts  into  the  mouth  of  Antony,  on  his  friend 
Julius  Caesar,  immediately  after  his  murder  in  the  senate  house. 

But  to  return,  I  repeat  the  sentiment,  as  an  important  one,  that 
nothing  tends  more  strongly  to  make  us  deaf  to  what  another  says^ 
than  if  he  appear  to  be  in  a  passion,  when  we  are  quite  tranquil. 
Now  the  panegyrical  discourses  much  more  easily  pass  into  the  pa- 
thetic, than  either  the  explanatory  or  the  controversial.  There  is  a 
near  affinity  between  the  moral  sentiments,  with  the  emotions  they 
occasion,  and  the  passions  and  affections  of  the  mind.  The  grada- 
tion is  perfectly  smooth  and  natural  from  approbation  to  admiration^ 
from  admiration  to  esteem  and  love,  from  esteem  and  love  of  the 
virtuous  and  praiseworthy,  to  detestation  and  abhorrence  of  the 
Contrary  dispositions,  and  from  these  to  corresponding  desires  and 
aversions.  The  orator  has  only  to  take  the  advantage  of  this  gra- 
dation, and  that  frame  of  spirit  which  the  whole  scope  of  the  dis- 
course was  calculated  to  produce. 


LECTURE  XII. 


Of  Pathetic  Discourses,   or,  those  addressed  to  the  Passions.     OfPersuateive 
Diecourses,  or  such  as  are  intended  to  operate  on  the  Will. 

1  HAVE  now  gone  through  the  explanation  of  the  principal  parts 
of  the  three  first  kinds  of  pulpit  discourses,  the  explanatory,  the  con- 
troversial, and  the  commendatory,  and  the  rules  to  be  severally  ob- 
served in  composing  each.  I  come  now  to  the  fourth  kind,  the  pa- 
thetic,  or  that  which  is  addressed  immediately  to  the  passions,  and 
which  is  specially  intended  to  rouse  the  mind  from  a  state  of  lan- 
guor and  indifference  to  the  impressions  of  fervour  and  affection. 
The  occasion  of  discourses  for  this  kind  with  us,  it  must  be  owned, 
are  not  very  frequent.  For  though  in  some  of  the  other  kinds,  par- 
ticularly in  the  persuasive,  a  great  deal  is  addressed  to  the  passions, 
yet  these  are,  in  that  species  of  sermon,  only  employed  as  means  to 
persuade  to  the  particular  practice  or  duty  recommended.  Where- 
as in  the  pathetic,  properly  so  called,  the  rousing  of  suitable  affec- 
tions is  apparently  the  ultimate  end.  I  acknowledge,  that  the 
whole  of  preaching  either  directly  or  indirectly  points  to  persuasion. 

25 


198  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

But  1  denominate  that  only,  the  end  of  any  species  of  discourse, 
which  is  the  declared  and  apparent  end  of  the  speaker.  1  have  ob- 
served, that  the  occasions  of  discourses  of  this  kind  are  few  ;  there 
are  however  some.  None  is  more  remarkable  or  occurs  oftener, 
than  those  calculated  for  disposing  a  congregation  to  a  suitable 
commemoration  of  the  sufferings  of  our  Lord,  in  the  sacrament  of 
the  supper,  or  Eucharist,  as  it  is  commonly  named  in  Ecclesiastical 
History.  I  do  not  say,  however,  that  this  is  the  only  kind  of  dis- 
course that  is  adapted  to  such  occasions.  By  no  means.  If  that 
were  the  case,  as  the  subject  of  exciting  the  affections  on  such  oc- 
casions is  always  the  same,  it  would  lay  a  minister  in  his  own  par- 
ish under  the  necessity  of  recurring  so  often  to  the  same  topics,  as 
could  not  fail  to  prove  tiresome  to  the  majority  of  the  hearers,  and 
that  though  the  things  advanced  by  him  were  ever  so  good.  An 
explanatory,  a  commendatory,  or  a  persuasive  discourse,  may  also  at 
such  times  be  very  pertinent.  A  little  of  the  grace  of  novelty  in 
form  and  manner,  is  exceedingly  necessary  for  commanding  the  at- 
tention of  the  greater  part  of  audiences.  The  only  kind  that  I 
think  ought  to  be  excluded  entirely  from  occasions  of  this  nature, 
is  the  controversial.  When  the  pathetic  at  such  a  time  is  made 
choice  of,  the  preacher's  aim  is  not  to  persuade  the  people  to  com- 
municate. He  supposes,  that  they  have  come  to  church  with  that 
intention.  It  is  not  to  persuade  them  to  the  performance  of  any 
preparatory  duty  ;  all  this  he  supposes  to  have  been  performed  al- 
ready. But  it  is  to  operate  on  all  the  grateful  and  devout  affections 
of  the  heart,  and  to  put  his  hearers,  I  may  say,  in  a  proper  frame  of 
spirit  for  discharging  the  duty  for  which  they  are  assembled,  in 
such  a  reverend  and  pious  manner,  as  may  produce  the  best  effect 
upon  their  minds,  and  tend  most  to  the  edification  and  confirmation 
of  themselves  and  others.  The  subject  for  this  purpose  may  be 
more  or  less  comprehensive,  as  the  preacher  shall  judge  convenient. 
Indeed,  for  the  sake  of  giving  a  little  variety  to  what  does  not, 
from  its  nature,  admit  a  great  deal,  it  may  not  be  improper  at  dif- 
ferent times  to  follow  different  methods;  at  one  time,  for  instance, 
the  subject  may  be  the  love  of  Christ  as  manifested  in  the  whole 
scheme  of  redemption  ;  at  another,  the  same  thing,  as  manifested 
in  his  sufferings  and  death.  It  is  discourses  of  the  last  kind,  which 
are  commonly  called  passion-sermons. 

In  regard  to  the  exordium  or  introduction ,  there  will  be  less  oc- 
casion for  much  art,  when  the  solemnity  of  the  time  or  the  purpose 
of  their  meeting  tends  itself  to  rouse  the   attention  of  the  hearer, 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  109 

and  to  supersede  the  address  of  the  speaker.  The  topics  for  intro- 
ducing the  subject  may  then  very  pertinently  be  raised  either  from 
the  intention  for  which  the  day  was  set  apart,  or  from  the  nature 
and  importance  of  the  matter  to  be  treated  in  the  sermon.  There 
is  nothing  peculiar  to  be  observed  in  regard  to  the  explanation  of 
the  text  and  context.  If  the  discourse  is  intended  merely  to  dis- 
play the  sufferings  of  our  Lord,  from  his  being  betrayed  into  the 
hands  of  his  enemies,  to  his  death,  the  cruelty  which  was  exercised 
upon  him,  and  the  meekness,  piety  and  patience  with  which  he 
bore  it,  it  does  not  appear  to  be  necessary,  formally  to  lay  down  a 
method.  It  is  enough  in  your  narrative  to  follow  the  order  of  the 
history.  In  the  manner  of  the  exhibition,  there  will  not  be  here  a 
very  material  difference  between  that  of  the  commendatory  or  pan- 
egyrical discourse  and  this  of  the  pathetic.  Only  the  latter  admits 
less  show  and  ornament,  and  requires  that  we  dwell  longer  on  the 
most  affecting  circumstances.  When  the  preacher's  subject  is 
such  as  doth  not  confine  him  within  so  narrow  a  compass,  but  af- 
fords an  opportunity  of  expatiating  on  topics  in  themselves  very 
distinct,  but  as  it  were  concentrating  in  the  tendency  they  all  have 
to  kindle  the  same  affection  in  the  breast ;  this  common  tendency 
gives  a  sufficient  unity  in  discourses  of  this  kind.  The  reason  is 
obvious. 

It  may  be  remarked,  that  in  this  sort  of  discourses,  more  of  the 
common  textuary  method  may  sometimes  be  followed,  than  any 
other  species  of  sermon  will  properly  admit.  Thus  suppose  the  text 
to  be  2  Cor.  viii.  9.  "  Ye  know  the  grace  of  our  liord  Jesus  Christ, 
that  though  he  was  rich,  yet  for  your  sakes  he  became  poor,  that  ye, 
through  his  poverty,  might  be  rich."  The  whole  intention  of  the 
discourse  being  to  stir  up  grateful  and  devout  affection,  these  topics 
may  severally  and  very  pertinently  be  touched  as  tendmg  all  to  the 
same  important  point.  First,  the  consideration  of  the  person,  whose 
grace  the  apostle  here  celebrated,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  who  was 
rich.  Secondly,  the  consideration  of  the  persons,  on  whom  this 
grace  was  bestowed,  you  (it  was  for  your  sakes)  the  posterity  of 
fallen  Adam,  poor  and  helpless.  Thirdly,  the  evidence  and  effect 
of  his  grace,  "  he  became  poor."  Fourthly,  the  happy  fruits  and 
purchase  of  his  grace,  "  that  ye,  through  his  poverty,  might  be  rich." 
It  is  manifest,  that  each  of  these  considerations,  as  it  were,  assists 
the  other,  all  conspiring  to  kindle  the  warmest  return  of  gratitude 
and  love.  Thus  all  pointing  to  one  end,  a  grateful  commemoration, 
gives  unity  to  the  discourse.     Another  instance  of  a  text,  which  on 


^00  CAMPBELL'S   LECTURES. 

guch  an  occasion,  and  for  such  a  purpose,  may  very  properly  be  di- 
vided in  a  similar  manner,  is  that  in  1  Pet.  iii.  18.     "Christ  also 
hath  once  suffered  for  sins,  the   just  for  the  unjust,  that  he  might 
bring  us  to  God."    This  is  all  of  the  verse,  that,  in  a  consistency  with 
Hhe  unity  of  scope  and  design,  should  be  taken  into  the  text.     The 
subject  in  effect,  perfectly  coincides  with  the  former  ;  and  the  dis- 
tribution may  be  in  other  words  the  same.     First,  Christ  the  just. 
Secondly,  us  the  unjust.    Thirdly,  "  he  suffered  for  sins."  Fourthly, 
'•  that  he  might  bring  us  to  God."     Each  consideration  severally  en- 
hances the  obligation,  and  consequently  the  gratitude.     In  the  man- 
per   of   treating  the  different  topics,  one  ought  carefully  to  avoid 
all  dry,  minute,  abstract  and   metaphysical  explanations,  as  well  as 
gyery  thing,   that  may  savour  too  much  of  argumentation  and  dis- 
pute.    We  are  to  remember,  that  this  kind  of  discourse  is  very  dif- 
ferent in  its  nature  and  complexion,  both  from  the  explanatory  and 
from  the  controversial.     These  are  intended  only  to  enlighten,  but 
the  other  to  warm.     The  view  of  the  speaker,  in  these  several  top- 
ics in  a  pathetic  discourse,  is  not  to  inform  the  hearers  of  what  they 
did  not    know  before,  it  is  not  to  convince  them  of  what  they  did 
not  believe  before ;  but  it  is  to  bring  to  their  remembrance,  truths 
which,  though  both  known  and  believed,  require  often  to  be  depict- 
ed in  the  most  striking  colours,  that  they  may   produce  their  con- 
genial effect  on  the  susceptible  heart  of  the  Christian.     Tt  is  mani- 
fest, therefore,  that  cold  and  formal  explanations,  critical  discussions, 
and  abstract  ratiocinations  are  here  carefully  to  be  avoided.     A  few 
lively  strictures  on  the  several  heads,  exhibiting  all  the  principal 
considerations  in  the  most  glowing  colours,  are  the    surest  way  of 
raising    such   images  in  the  fancy,  as  not   only  will  give  a  greater 
permanency  to  the  perception  of  the  truths  themselves,  but  will 
make  them  more  effectually  operate  on  the  passions.     In  discourses 
of  this   kind,   there  is  less  occasion  also  for  a  formal  peroration  or 
conclusion  than  in  any  other.     The  reason  is,  that  whereas  a  cer- 
tain application  in  the  other  kinds,  of  the  points  discussed  in  the 
body  of  the  discourse,  requires  a  particular  address  to  the  passions, 
there  cannot  be  the  same  propriety  of  ending  in  this  manner  here, 
^here  the  whole  discourse  is  addressed  to  the  passions.     Something 
therefore,  which  in   few  words  may  serve  to  set  the  whole  object 
full  in  view,  to  recal  and  infix  the  impressions  already  made,  is  all 
that  is  necessary  in  discourses  of  this  nature. 

I  shall   now,  in  the  last  place,  consider  the  fifth  species  of  dis- 
course mentioned,  that  which   was  intended  to  operate  upon  the 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  201 

will,  and  which  was  denominated  persuasive.  Under  this  I  include 
not  only  those  sermons,  whose  end  is  to  persuade  to  good,  but  those 
also  which  are  calculated  to  dissuade  from  evil ;  for  the  structure 
and  the  rules  of  composition  in  both  kinds  are  much  the  same. 
Here  the  distinguishing  excellence  results  from  a  proper  mixture  oi 
the  argumentative  and  the  pathetic,  as  it  were,  incorporated  together. 
Let  it  be  observed,  that  I  use  the  word  pathetic,  in  the  largest  ac- 
ceptation, for  whatever  is  fitted  for  exciting  passion,  affection  or 
desire.  The  argumentative  is  necessary,  because  the  intention  of 
the  speaker  compriseth  in  it  to  convince  the  judgment,  that  is,  for 
example,  to  satisfy  me,  that  the  conduct  which  you  recommend,  is 
agreeable  to  my  duty,  that  it  serves  to  promote  my  true  interest,  or 
is  conducive  to  my  honour  or  my  peace.  The  pathetic  is  also  ne- 
cessary, because  the  speaker's  intention  does  not  terminate  in  the 
conviction  of  the  judgment;  he  intends  also,  and  principally,  by 
means  of  the  judgment,  to  influence  the  will.  To  make  me  be- 
lieve, it  is  enough  to  shew  me  that  things  are  so;  to  make  me  act, 
it  is  necessary  to  shew  that  the  action  will  answer  some  end.  That 
can  never  be  an  end  to  me,  which  gratifies  no  passion  or  affection 
in  my  nature.  In  order  to  persuade,  it  is  always  necessary  to 
move  the  passions.  Passion  is  the  mover  to  action,  reason  is  the 
guide.  Good  is  the  object  of  the  will,  truth  is  the  object  of  the  un- 
derstanding. It  is  only  through  the  passions,  affections  and  senti- 
ments of  the  heart,  that  the  will  is  to  be  reached.  It  is  not  less 
necessary,  therefore,  in  the  orator  to  awaken  those  affections  in  the 
hearers,  which  can  be  made  most  easily  to  co-operate  with  his  view  ; 
than  it  is  to  satisfy  their  understandings  that  the  conduct  to  which 
he  would  persuade  them,  tends  to  the  gratification  of  the  affections 
raised.  But  though  both  are  really  purposed  by  the  speaker,  it  is 
the  last  only,  that  is  formally  presented  to  them,  as  entering  in,to 
his  plan.  To  express  a  formed  purpose  to  work  upon  their  passions, 
would  be  like  giving  them  warning  to  be  upon  their  guard,  for  that 
he  has  a  design  upon  them.  Artis  est  celare  artem.  (It  is  the  busi- 
ness of  art  to  conceal  art.)  Such  a  method,  on  the  contrary, 
would  be  to  lay  the  artifice  quite  naked,  and  thereby  totally  to  de- 
feat its  end.  The  emotion  with  which  they  perceive  him  agitated, 
and  the  animation  of  his  language,  far  from  being  the  result  of  a 
deliberate  settled  purpose,  ought  to  appear  in  him,  the  necessary, 
the  unavoidable  consequences  of  the  sense  that  he  has  of  the  un- 
speakable importance  of  the  truths  he  utters,  joined  with  an  ardent 
desire  of  promoting  the  eternal  happiness  of  them  who  hear  him, 


202  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

It  is  not,  therefore,  here  one  part  that  is  pathetic,  and  another  argu- 
mentative ;  but  these  two  are  interwoven.  The  most  cogent  argu- 
ments are  earnestly  urged  and  pathetically  expressed. 

With  regard  to  the  whole  of  the  introductory  part,  and  explana- 
tion in  this  sort  of  discourses,  I  have  nothing  peculiar  to  remark. 
I  shall  only  observe,  that  as  to  the  text^  it  suits  this  kind  better  than 
any  other,  that  it  be  in  the  form  of  a  precept.  I  do  not  say,  how- 
ever, that  this  form  is  absolutely  necessary.  The  endof  the  speak- 
er may  be,  either  to  persuade  to  a  Christian  life  in  general,  or  to 
the  performance  of  any  Christian  duty  in  particular.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  may  be  to  dissuade  from  a  vicious  course  in  general,  or 
from  the  practice  of  any  sin  in  particular.  Nay  further,  it  may  be 
a  persuasive  or  a  dissuasive  general  or  particular,  either  from  all 
the  motives  that  the  nature  of  the  subject  will  afford,  or  from  one 
class  of  motives  only.  There  is  such  a  richness  and  variety  in  the 
motives,  that  may  be  urged,  where  religion  is  in  the  question,  that 
in  order  to  avoid  being  superficial,  it  may  be  very  proper  for  a  pas- 
tor amongst  his  own  flock,  as  he  has  frequent  opportunities  of  ad- 
dressing them,  sometimes  to  enforce  the  same  duty  from  one  set  of 
motives,  and  sometimes  from  another.  If  the  speaker's  design  be 
to  comprehend  in  the  same  discourse,  all  the  arguments  which  the 
nature  of  the  subject  admits,  his  text  should  be  either  a  simple  pre- 
cept, wherein  the  duty  is  enjoined,  or  the  sin  prohibited,  but  no  mo- 
tive urged ;  or  perhaps  a  simple  proposition,  wherein  such  a  prac- 
tice is  barely  pronounced  right  or  wrong.  If  the  intention  is  to 
persuade  from  one  class  of  motives  only,  there  should  be  some- 
thing in  the  text,  that  points  to  these  motives. 

Thus  in  the  first  case,  suppose  the  speaker's  intention  be  to  per- 
suade to  repentance  from  every  motive  which  either  reason  or 
scripture  affords,  his  text  may  be  the  simple  command  Repent^ 
which  occurs  in  several  places  of  the  gospel ;  or  if  he  does  not  like 
one  so  brief,  he  may  take  these  words  of  the  apostle  Paul,  Acts 
xvii.  30.  "God  now  commandeth  all  men  every  where  to  repent." 
But  if  he  would  persuade  to  repentance  from  the  single  consideration 
of  its  connection  with  the  remission  of  sins,  these  words  of  Peter 
(Acts  iii.  19.  )  will  do  better,  "  Repent  ye  therefore  and  be  con- 
verted, that  your  sins  may  be  blotted  out ;"  for  the  words  he  convert- 
ed are  merely  explanatory,  and  therefore  do  not  render  the  senti- 
ment complex,  whatever  may  be  said  of  the  expression.  Or,  if  the 
speaker's  intention  (which  is  near  of  kin  to  the  former)  be  to  per- 
suade to  repentance  from  this  consideration,  that  future  misery  is 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  203 

the  inevitable  consequence  of  final  impenitence,  he  may  take  these 
words  of  our  Lord  (Luke  xiii.  15.)  "  Except  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all 
perish."  To  a  Christian  life  in  general  one  may  persuade  from 
various  motives.  Suppose  from  the  native  excellence  of  genuine 
virtue  or  true  righteousness,  the  text  in  that  case  may  be  Prov.  xii. 
26.  "  The  righteous  is  more  excellent  than  his  neighbour ;"  or  from 
the  present  felicity  to  be  found  in  the  ways  of  religion,  these  words, 
Ps.  xix.  IL  "In  keeping  of  them  there  is  great  reward,"  may 
serve  as  a  text.  Let  it  be  observed,  that  such  a  text  as  this  requires 
some  explanation  of  the  context,  without  which  the  subject  is  not  to 
be  understood,  the  matter  spoken  of  being  expressed  by  a  pronoun. 
When  this  is  not  the  case,  and  when  the  passage  adopted  appears  in- 
dependent and  perfectly  intelligible  by  itself,  it  may  stand  for  a  gen- 
eral rule,  that  such  explanations  are  better  let  alone,  and  deserve  to 
be  considered,  but  as  a  sort  of  digressions^at  the  best.  If  the  intention 
were  to  persuade  to  a  good  life  from  the  consideration  of  the  comfort  it 
brings  in  trouble,  and  especially  in  the  views  of  death,  this  passage 
might  answer,  Ps.  xxxvii.  37.  "  Mark  the  perfect  man  and  behold 
the  upright,  for  the  end  of  that  man  is  peace."  Bourdaloue,  a  cele- 
brated F'rench  preacher  of  the  last  century,  persuades  to  the  same 
thing  from  the  consideration  of  the  future  happiness  of  the  saints 
from  these  words  of  our  Saviour,  Luke  vi.  23.  "  Behold  your  re- 
ward is  great  in  heaven."  It  deserves  to  be  remarked,  that  there 
is  here  not  only  a  reference  to  the  context  for  the  character  or  con- 
duct to  which  the  reward  is  promised,  but  that  when  you  recur  to 
the  preceding  words,  they  seem  rather  to  refer  to  this  in  particular, 
the  suffering  of  persecution  and  reproach  for  righteousness'  sake. 
Yet  as  this  itself  is  one  of  the  noblest  fruits  and  surest  evidences 
of  real  sanctity,  the  choice  cannot  justly  be  deemed  an  inexcusable 
liberty-  The  reward  is  very  properly  considered,  as  ultimately  to 
be  attributed  to  that  principle,  from  which  the  conduct  flows.  In 
persuading  to  particular  duties,  or  dissuading  from  particular  vices 
or  temptations  to  vice,  when  the  speaker  intends  (as  it  is  not  in- 
deed so  common  here  to  confine  one's  self  to  one  class  of  motives) 
to  employ  every  argument  of  weight,  which  the  subject  presents  to 
jiim,  a  single  precept,  briefly  and  plainly  expressed,  seems  the  most 
convenient  choice  for  a  text.  If  the  design  is  to  persuade  to  the 
love  of  God,  these  words  are  proper.  Matt.  xxii.  37.  "Thou  shalt 
love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and 
with  all  thy  mind."  If  to  the  love  of  men,  verse  39.  "  Thou  shalt 
love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself."   These  passages  may,  in  like  manner, 


204  CAMPi3ELL"S  LECTURES. 

serve  as  foundations  for  discourses  explanatory  of  these  duties.  And 
as  was  remarked  on  the  controversial  sermon,  we  may  observe  here, 
that  the  minister  in  his  own  parish  may,  if  he  thinks  it  necessary,  be- 
gin with  a  discourse  explaining  the  duty  enjoined  or  the  vice  pro* 
hibited,  (if  the  text  contains  a  prohibition,)  and  in  his  next  dis- 
course from  the  same  words  make  it  his  business  to  persuade 
them  to  the  one,  or  dissuade  them  from  the  other.  But  in  many 
cases  it  must  be  acknowledged,  that  such  previous  explanatory  dis- 
course is  not  necessary  ;  the  full  import  of  the  precept  being  per- 
fectly level  to  every  ordinary  capacity.  Thus  if  the  subject  were 
to  dissuade  from  the  vice  of  lying,  a  proper  text  would  be  these 
words  of  Paul,  Col.  iii.  9.  "  Lie  not  to  one  another."  If  against 
detraction,  James  iv.  11.  "Speak  not  evil  one  of  another."  In 
such  plain  cases,  it  must  be  owned,  there  would  be  little  occasion 
for  many  words,  and  much  less  for  a  separate  discourse,  in  order  to 
explain  the  import  and  extent  of  the  prohibition. 

In  regard  to  the  method,  however  different  the  matter  be,  as 
something  of  the  argumentative  form  must  be  preserved,  the  rules 
laid  down  in  the  controversial  discourse  may  be  of  some  use.  One 
may  begin,  with  showing  the  weakness  of  those  pleas  or  arguments 
by  which  the  dissolute,  the  vicious  or  the  profane  commonly  defend 
their  own  conduct,  and  seduce  others  into  the  same  track ;  and 
then  produce  positive  arguments  or  motives  to  influence  his  hear- 
ers to  that  conduct  which  he  recommends.  Or  it  may  not  be 
necessary,  to  make  a  separate  article  of  the  adversary's  plea ;  a 
place,  for  whatever  is  requisite  in  this  way,  may  be  found  by  the 
preacher,  as  he  proceeds  in  the  support  of  his  own  cause.  In  this 
case  the  different  topics  of  argument  may  constitute  the  heads  of 
discourse.  Bourdaloue,  on  the  text  above  mentioned,  proposed  to 
persuade  his  hearers  to  a  pious  and  virtuous  life  from  the  consider- 
ation of  the  recompense  that  awaits  the  just  in  the  world  to  come. 
And  from  these  three  different  qualities  of  that  recompense,  its  cer- 
tainty, its  greatness,  its  eternity,  finds  topics  of  argument  for  influ- 
encing his  hearers  to  a  proper  regard  to  it.  And  these  three  topics 
divide  the  discourse.  In  treating  each,  he  contrasts  that  quality  he 
is  illustrating  with  something  of  an  opposite  nature  ever  to  be  found 
in  the  rewards  or  pleasures  of  sin,  their  precariousness  in  opposi- 
tion to  its  certainty,  their  insignificancy  in  opposition  to  its  great- 
ness, and  their  transitoriness  in  opposition  to  its  eternity.  As  to 
the  method,  in  which  the  different  topics  are  to  be  arranged,  the 
same   observations  will  hold  that  were  made  on  the  controversial 


CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES.  205 

discourse,  and  therefore  shall  not  be  repeated.  The  arrangement 
above  mentioned  seems  to  be  the  best  in  that  particular  subject, 
yet  I  could  not  say,  it  were  absolutely  necessary.  You  may  begin 
perhaps  with  equal  propriety  with  the  greatness  of  the  reward,  as 
with  its  certainty ;  but  in  any  case,  it  seems  most  fit,  that  you 
should  conclude  with  the  eternity.  When  the  different  motives  are 
mentioned  in  the  text,  the  preacher  may  very  properly  take  notice 
of  the  different  clauses,  as  the  founijations  of  his  different  heads. 
But  when  they  are  not  explicitly  mentioned,  it  savours  of  conceit 
and  puerility  to  make  them  out  by  straining  the  words.  This  is  a 
fault,  into  which  the  last  mentioned  orator,  misled  by  the  taste  of 
the  age  and  nation,  frequently  falls.  Of  the  three  topics  aforesaid, 
only  one  can  properly  be  said  to  be  expressed  in  the  text,  namely, 
the  greatness :  yet  he  finds  something  in  the  words  to  serve  as  sep- 
arate foundations  to  the  several  heads.  First,  says  he,  I  shall  con- 
sider the  certainty  pointed  out  in  the  emphatic  term  with  which  the 
the  sentence  is  introduced,  Ecce^  behold.  Secondly,  the  greatness, 
merces  vestra  mulla  est,  your  reward  is  great.  Thirdly,  the  eterni- 
ty, in  ccBlOf  in  heaven.  It  may  not  be  amiss  to  observe,  that  in 
making  the  transition  from  one  topic  or  head  of  discourse  to  another, 
it  will  often  prove  very  helpful  to  the  memory,  to  point  out  in  brief 
how  much  you  have  already  evinced,  and  what  you  are  in  the  next 
place  proceeding  to  evince. 

As  to  the  conclusion  J  it  is  very  proper,  first,  to  give  a  sum  of  the 
argument,  in  order  to  infix  the  whole  more  effectually  on  the  minds 
of  the  hearers,  and  then  more  warmly  to  address  the  passions.  If 
the  preceding  part  has  been  suitably  conducted,  the  people  will  be 
prepared  for  entering  into  the  subject,  with  all  the  warmth  that  the 
speaker  can  desire.  The  ^yay  of  practical  inferences  or  specula- 
tive corollaries  is  not  well  suited  to  this  kind  of  discourse.  With 
regard  to  the  first,  the  whole  tenour  of  the  sermon  is  practical,  and 
therefore  needs  not  a  formal  application  of  this  kind  ;  besides,  that 
to  enforce  any  thing  else,  than  what  was  the  direct  aim  of  the  whole, 
is  really  diverting  the  hearers'  attention,  and  in  some  degree  undo- 
ing the  effect  of  what  was  said.  Still  more  unsuitable  are  inferen- 
ces, relating  merely  to  the  truth  or  the  falsehood  of  certain  tenets. 
When  the  discourse  is  a  persuasive  to  the  Christian  life  in  general, 
or  to  some  necessary  and  important  duty  immediately  connected 
with  the  whole,  as  to  repentance  ;  in  the  peroration,  one  may  very 
pertinently  urge  some  motives  to  induce  the  hearers  to  enter  with-^ 

26 


206  CAMPBELL'S  LECTURES. 

oat  loss  of  time  on  doing  that  which  they  must  be  sensible,  it  is 
both  their  duty  and  their  interest  to  do.  This  is  no  other  than  ad- 
vancing the  aim  and  effect  of  the  whole.  In  this  part,  however,  he 
ought  carefully  to  avoid  the  formality  of  proposing  and  arranging 
his  topics.  For  this  would  give  the  appearance  of  a  new  and  a 
separate  discourse,  to  what  was  intended  only  as  corrobative  of  the 
discourse  preceding. 


DIALOGUES 


CONCERNING 


ELOQUENCE  IN   GENERAL; 


AND 


PARTICULARLY  THAT  KIND  WHICH  IS  PROPER 
FOR  THE  PULPIT. 

BY    M.    DE    FENELON, 

ARCHBISHOP   OF    CAMBRAY, 


TRANSLATED    FROM   THE    FRENCH,    AND    ILLUSTRATED 
WITH    NOTES    AND    QUOTATIONS. 

BY  WILLIAM  STEVENSON,  M.  A. 

RECTOR  OF  MORNIKGTHORP  IN  NORFOLK. 

rUirX7BRSIT7)^ 

BOSTON: 
LINCOLN    AND    EDMAND 
1832. 


PREFACE. 


BY     THE      CHEVALIER     RAMSAY, 


Both  the  ancients  and  the  moderns  have  treated  of  eloquence, 
with  different  views,  and  in  different  ways — as  logicians,  as  gram- 
marians, and  as  critics  :  but  we  still  wanted  an  author  who  should 
handle  this  delicate  subject  as  a  philosopher,  and  a  Christian  :  and 
this  the  late  Archbishop  of  Cambray  has  done  in  the  following 
Dialogues. 

In  the  ancient  writers  we  find  many  solid  precepts  of  rhetoric, 
and  very  just  rules  laid  down  with  great  exactness  :  but  they  are 
ofttimes  too  numerous,  too  dry  ;  and,  in  fine,  rather  curious  than 
useful.  Our  author  reduces  the  essential  rules  of  this  wonderful 
art,  to  these  three  points ;  proving,  painting,  and  moving  the  pas- 
sions. 

To  qualify  his  orator  for  proving,  or  establishing  any  truth,  he 
would  have  him  a  philosopher  ;  who  knows  how  to  enlighten  the 
understanding,  while  he  moves  the  passions  j  and  to  act  at  once 
upon  all  the  powers  of  the  mind  ;  not  only  by  placing  the  truth  in 
so  clear  a  light  as  to  gain  attention  and  assent ;  but  likewise  by 
moving  all  the  secret  springs  of  the  soul,  to  make  it  love  that  truth 
it  is  convinced  of  In  one  word,  our  author  would  have  his  orator's 
mind  filled  with  bright,  useful  truths,  and  the  most  exalted  views. 

That  he  may  be  able  to  paint,  or  describe  well,  he  should  have 
a  poetic  kind  of  enthusiasm ;  and  know  how  to  employ  beautiful 
figures,  lively  images,  and  bold  touches,  when  the  subject  requires 
them.  But  this  art  ought  to  be  entirely  concealed  :  or,  if  it  must 
appear,  it  should  seem  to  be  a  just  copy  of  nature.     Wherefore  our 


IV  PREFACE. 

author  rejects  all  such  false  ornaments  as  serve  only  to  please  the 
ear  with  harmonious  sounds  ;  and  the  imagination,  with  ideas  that 
are  more  gay  and  sparkling,  than  just  and  solid. 

To  move  the  passions  he  would  have  an  orator  set  every  truth  in 
its  proper  place ;  and  so  connect  them  that  the  first  may  make  way 
for  the  second ;  and  the  next  support  the  former :  so  that  the  dis- 
course shall  gradually  advance  in  strength  and  clearness,  till  the 
hearers  perceive  the  whole  weight  and  force  of  the  truth.  And 
then  he  ought  to  display  it  in  the  liveliest  images  ;  and  both  in  his 
words  and  gesture  use  all  those  affecting  movements  that  are 
proper  to  express  the  passions  he  would  excite. 

It  is  by  reading  the  ancients  that  we  must  form  our  taste,  and 
learn  the  art  of  eloquence  in  all  its  extent.  But  seeing  that  some 
of  the  ancients  themselves  have  their  defects,  we  must  read  them 
with  caution  and  judgment.  Our  learned  author  distinguishes  the 
genuine  beauties  of  the  purest  antiquity,  from  the  false  ornaments 
used  in  after  ages  ;  he  points  out  what  is  excellent,  and  what  is 
faulty,  both  in  sacred  and  profane  authors ;  and  shows  us  that  the 
eloquence  of  the  Holy  Scripture,  in  many  places,  surpasses  that  of 
the  Greeks  and  Romans,  in  native  simplicity,  liveliness,  grandeur, 
and  in  every  thing  that  can  recommend  truth  to  our  assent  and 
admiration. 


i 


Ullfl^^ 


i,  k 


DIALOGUES 

CONCERNING    ELOQUENCE. 


THE  FIRST  DIALOGUE,  BETWEEN  ^.  AND  £,  AND  C. 

A.  Well,  Sir,  I  suppose  you  have  been  hearing  the  sermon  to 
which  you  would  have  carried  me.  I  have  but  very  little  curiosity 
that  way,  and  am  content  with  our  parish  minister. 

B.  I  was  charmed  with  my  preacher.  You  had  a  great  loss, 
Sir,  in  not  hearing  him.  I  have  hired  a  pew,  that  I  may  not  miss 
one  of  his  Lent  sermons.  O  !  he  is  a  wonderful  man.  If  you  did 
but  once  hear  him,  you  could  never  bear  any  other. 

A.  If  it  be  so,  I  am  resolved  never  to  hear  him.  I  would  not 
have  any  one  preacher  give  me  a  distaste  of  all  others;  on  the  con- 
trary, I  should  choose  one  that  will  give  me  a  relish  and  respect 
for  the  word  of  God,  as  may  dispose  me  the  more  to  hear  it  preach- 
ed every  where.  But  since  I  have  lost  so  much  by  not  hearing 
this  fine  discourse  you  are  so  pleased  with,  you  may  make  up  part 
of  that  loss,  if  you  will  be  so  kind  as  to  communicate  to  us  what 
you  remember  of  it. 

B.  I  should  only  mangle  the  sermon,  by  endeavouring  to  re- 
peat any  part  of  it.  There  were  an  hundred  beauties  in  it  that 
one  cannot  recollect,  and  which  none  but  the  preacher  himself 
could  display. 

A.  Well ;  but  let  us  at  least  know  something  of  his  design,  his 
proofs,  his  doctrine,  and  the  chief  truths  he  enlarged  on.  Do  you 
remember  nothing  ?  W^s  you  unattentive  ? 

B.  Far  from  it:  I  never  listened  with  more  attention  and 
pleasure. 

C.  What  is  the  matter  then,  do  you  want  to  be  entreated  ? 


FENELON'S  DIALOGUES 

B.  No  :  but  the  preacher's  thoughts  were  so  refined,  and  de- 
pended so  much  on  the  turn  and  delicacy  of  his  expressions,  that 
though  they  charmed  me  while  I  heard  them,  they  cannot  be  easi- 
ly recollected  ;  and  though  one  could  remember  them,  if  they  be 
expressed  in  other  words,  they  would  not  seem  to  be  the  same 
thoughts  ;  but  lose  all  their  grace  and  force. 

A.  Surely,  Sir,  these  beauties  must  be  very  fading,  if  they 
vanish  thus  upon  the  touch,  and  will  not  bear  a  review.  I  should 
be  much  better  pleased  with  a  discourse  which  has  more  body  in 
it,  and  less  spirit ;  that  things  might  make  a  deeper  impression  on 
the  mind,  and  be  more  easily  remembered.  What  is  the  end  of 
speaking  but  to  persuade  people,  and  to  instruct  them  in  such 
truths  as  they  can  retain  ? 

C.  Now  you  have  begun.  Sir,  I  hope  you  will  go  on  with  this 
useful  subject. 

A.  I  wish  I  could  prevail  with  you.  Sir,  to  give  us  some  gener- 
al notion  of  the  elegant  harangue  you  heard. 

B.  Since  you  are  so  very  urgent,  I  will  tell  you  what  I  can 
recollect  of  it.  The  text  was  this,*  *  I  have  eaten  ashes  like 
bread.'  Now  could  any  one  make  a  happier  choice  of  a  text  for 
Ash-wednesday  ?  He  shewed  us  that,  according  to  this  passage, 
ashes  ought  this  day  to  be  the  food  of  our  souls  ;  then  in  his  pre- 
amble he  ingeniously  interwove  the  story  of  Artemesia,  with  re- 
gard to  her  husband's  ashes.  Hist  transition  to  his  Ave  Maria  was 
very  artful ;  and  his  division  was  extremely  ingenious  :  you  shall 
judge  of  it.  1.  '  Though  this  dust,  said  he,  be  a  sign  of  repentance, 
it  is  a  principle  of  felicity  :  2.  Though  it  seems  to  humble  us,  it  is 
really  a  source  of  glory  :  3.  And  though  it  represents  death,  it  is 
a  remedy  that  gives  immortal  life.'     He  turned   this  division  vari- 

^  Psalm  cii.  9. 
t  The  Romish  preachers,  in  the  preamble  of  their  sermons,  address  them- 
selves to  the  Virgin  Mary  ;  and  are  ofttimes  very  artful  in  their  transi- 
tion to  it,  as  our  author  observes.  We  have  a  remarkable  example  of  this 
in  one  of  the  greatest  French  orators,  M .  L'  Esprit  Flechier,  bishop  of  Nis- 
mes,  who  seems  to  be  oftener  than  once  alluded  to  in  these  dialogues.  In 
his  panegyric  on  S.  Joseph  he  introduces  his  Ave  Maria  thus, — Every  thing 
seems  to  concur  to  the  glory  of  my  subject  ;  the  Holy  Spirit,  Jesus  Christ, 
and  Mary,  are  concerned  in  it ;  why  may  I  not  hope  for  the  assistance  of  one 
of  them,  the  grace  of  the  other,  and  the  intercessions  of  the  Virgin  ?  To  whom 
we  will  address  ourselves  in  those  words  that  the  angel  said  to  her,  and 
which  S.  Joseph  no  doubt  often  repeated  ;  Hail  I  Mary,  &c,  Panegyriques, 
vol.  i.  p.  71. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  t 

ous  ways,  and  every  time  he  gave  it  a  new  lustre  by  his  antitheses. 
The  rest  of  his  discourse  was  not  less  bright  and  elegant ;  the  lan- 
guage was  polite ;  the  thoughts  new ;  the  periods  were  harmoni- 
ous ;  and  each  of  them  concluded  with  some  surprising  turn.  He 
gave  such  just  characters  of  common  life,  that  his  hearers  found 
their  various  pictures  faithfully  drawn  :  and  his  exact  anatomy  of 
all  the  passions  equalled  the  maxims  of  the  great  Rochefoucault  ; 
in  short,  I  think  it  was  a  master-piece.  But,  Sir,  I  shall  be  glad  to 
know  your  opinion  of  it. 

A.  I  am  unwilling  to  tell  you  my  thoughts,  or  to  lessen  your 
esteem,  of  it.  We  ought  to  reverence  the  word  of  God ;  to  im- 
prove ourselves  by  all  the  truths  that  a  preacher  explains ;  and 
avoid  a  critical  humour,  lest  we  should  lessen  the  authority  of  the 
sacred  function. 

B.  You  have  nothing  to  fear.  Sir,  at  present,  It  is  not  out  of 
curiosity  that  I  ask  your  opinion  ;  but  because  I  would  have  clear 
notions  of  it ;  and  such  solid  instructions  as  may  not  only  satisfy 
myself,  but  be  of  use  to  others  ;  for  you  know  my  profession  obliges 
me  to  preach.  Give  us  your  thoughts,  therefore,  without  any  re- 
serve ;  and  do  not  be  afraid  either  of  contradicting  or  offending 
me. 

A.  Since  you  will  have  it  so,  I  must  obey  your  commands. 
To  be  free  then  ;  I  conclude,  from  your  own  account  of  this  sermon, 
that  it  was  a  very  sorry  one. 

B.  Why  so? 

A.  Why ;  can  a  sermon  in  which  the  scripture  is  falsely  ap- 
plied ;  a  scrap  of  profane  history  is  told  after  a  dry,  childish  man- 
ner ;  and  vain  affectation  of  wit  runs  throughout  the  whole  ;  can 
such  a  sermon  be  good  ? 

B.  By  no  means  :  but  I  do  not  think  that  the  sermon  1  heard 
is  of  that  sort. 

A.  Have  patience,  and  I  doubt  not  but  you  and  1  shall  agree. 
AVhen  the  preacher  chose  these  words  for  his  text,  *  I  have  eaten 
ashes  like  bread,'  ought  he  to  have  amused  his  audience  with  ob- 
serving some  kind  of  relation  between  the  mere  sound  of  his  text, 
and  the  ceremony  of  the  day  ?  Should  he  not  first  have  explained 
the  true  sense  of  the  words,  before  he  applied  them  to  the  present 
occasion  ? 

B.  It  had  been  better. 

37 


8   ,  FENELON'S  DIALOGUES 

A.  Ought  he  not  therefore  to  have  traced  the  subject  a  little 
higher,  by  entering  into  the  true  occasion  and  design  of  the 
Psalm  ;  and  explaining  the  context?  Was  it  not  proper  for  him  to 
inquire  whether  the  interpretation  he  gave  of  the  words  was  agree- 
able to  the  true  meaning  of  them,  before  he  delivered  his  own 
sense  to  the  people,  as  if  it  were  the  word  of  God  1 

B.  He  ought  to  have  done  so  :  but  what  fault  was  there  in  his 
interpretation  ? 

A.  Why,  I  will  tell  you.  David  (who  was  the  author  of  the  cii. 
Psalm,  speaks  of  his  own  misfortunes  :  he  tells  us,  that  his  enemies 
insulted  him  cruelly,  when  they  saw  him  in  the  dust,  humbled  at  their 
feet,  and  reduced  (as  he  poetically  expresses  it)  to  *eat  ashes  like 
bread,'  and  *  to  mingle  his  drink  with  weeping.'  Now  what  relation 
is  there  between  the  complaints  of  David,  driven  from  his  throne,  and 
persecuted  by  his  son  Absalom  ;  and  the  humiliation  of  a  Christian, 
who  puts  ashes  on  his  forehead  to  remind  him  of  his  mortality,  and 
disengage  him  from  sinful  pleasures  ?  Could  the  preacher  find  no 
other  text  in  scripture  ?  Did  Christ  and  his  apostles,  or  the  pro- 
phets, never  speak  of  death,  and  the  dust  of  the  grave,  to  which  all 
our  pride  and  vanity  must  be  reduced  ?  Does  not  the  scripture  con- 
tain many  affecting  images  of  this  important  truth?  Might  he  not 
have  been  content  with  the  words  of  Genesis,*  which  are  so  natu- 
ral and  proper  for  this  ceremony,  and  chosen  by  the  church  itself? 
Should  a  vain  delicacy  make  him  afraid  of  too  often  repeating  a 
text  that  the  Holy  Spirit  has  dictated,  and  which  the  church  ap- 
points to  be  used  every  year  1  Why  should  he  neglect  such  a  per- 
tinent passage,  and  many  other  places  of  scripture,  to  pitch  on  one 
that  is  not  proper?  This  must  flow  from  a  depraved  taste,  and  a 
fond  inclination  to  say  something  that  is  new. 

JB.  You  grow  too  warm,  Sir  :  supposing  the  literal  sense  of  the 
text  not  to  be  the  true  meaning  of  it,  the  preacher's  remarks  might 
however  be  very  fine  and  solid. 

C.  As  for  my  part,  T  do  not  care  whether  a  preacher's  thoughts 
be  fine  or  not,  till  I  am  first  satisfied  of  their  being  true.  But,  Sir, 
what  say  you  to  the  rest  of  the  sermon  ? 

A.  It  was  exactly  of  a  piece  with  the  text.  How  could  the 
preacher  give  such  misplaced  ornaments  to  a  subject  in  itself  so 
terrifying  ;  and  amuse  his  hearers  with  an  idle  story  of  Artemesia's 
sorrow  ;  when  he  ought  to  have  alarmed  them,  and. given  them  the 
most  terrible  images  of  death  ? 

*Gen.  iii.  19. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  9 

JB.  I  perceive  then  you  do  not  love  turns  of  wit,  on  such  occa- 
sions. But  what  would  become  of  eloquence  if  it  were  stript  of 
such  ornaments?  Would  you  confine  every  body  to  the  plainness 
of  country  preachers  1  Such  men  are  useful  among  the  common 
people :  but  persons  of  distinction  have  more  delicate  ears  ;  and 
we  must  adapt  our  discourses  to  their  polite  taste. 

A.  You  are  now  leading  me  off  from  the  point.  1  was  endeav- 
ouring to  convince  you,  that  the  plan  of  the  sermon  was  ill  laid  ; 
and  I  was  just  going  to  touch  upon  the  division  of  it  ;  but  I 
suppose  you  already  perceive  the  reason  why  I  dislike  it  :  for,  the 
preacher  lays  down  three  quaint  conceits  for  the  subject  of  his 
whole  discourse.  When  one  chooses  to  divide  a  sermon,  he  should 
do  it  plainly,  and  give  such  a  division  as  naturally  arises  from  the 
subject  itself,  and  gives  a  light  and  just  order  to  the  several  parts; 
such  a  division  as  may  be  easily  remembered,  and  at  the  same 
time  help  to  connect  and  retain  the  whole ;  in  fine,  a  division  that 
shows  at  once  the  extent  of  the  subject  and  of  all  its  parts.  But, 
on  the  contrary,  here  is  a  man  who  endeavours  to  dazzle  his  hear- 
ers, and  puts  them  off  with  three  points  of  wit,  or  puzzling  riddles, 
which  he  turns  and  plies  so  dexterously,  that  they  must  fancy  they 
saw  some  tricks  of  legerdemain.  Did  this  preacher  use  such  a 
serious,  grave  manner  of  address  as  might  make  you  hope  for  some- 
thing useful  and  important  from  him  1  But,  to  return  to  the  point 
you  proposed  :  Did  you  not  ask  me  whether  I  meant  to  banish  elo- 
quence from  the  pulpit? 

JB.     Yes.     I  fancy  that  is  your  drift. 

A.  Think  you  so  ?  pray  what  do  you  mean  by  eloquence  ? 

B.  It  is  the  art  of  speaking  well. 

A.  Has  this  art  no  other  end,  besides  that  of  speaking  well  ? 
Have  not  men  some  design  in  speaking  1  Or  do  they  only  talk  for 
the  sake  of  talking  ? 

B.  They  speak  to  please,  and  to  persuade  others. 

A.  Pray  let  us  carefully  distinguish  these  two  things.  Men  talk 
in  order  to  persuade  ;  that  is  certain  ;  and  too  often  they  speak  like- 
wise to  please  others.  But  while  one  endeavours  to  please,  he  has 
another  view;  which,  though  more  distant,  ought  to  be  his  chief 
aim.  A  man  of  probity  has  no  other  design  in  pleasing  others, 
than  that  he  may  the  more  effectually  inspire  them  with  the  love  of 
justice,  and  other  virtues,  by  representing  them  as  most  amiable. 
He  who  seeks  to  advance  his  own  interest,  his  reputation,  or  his 
fortune,  strives  to  please,  only  that  he  may  gain  the  affection  and 


10  FENELON'S  DIALOGUES 

esteem  of  such  as  can  gratify  his  ambition,  or  his  avarice  ;  so  that 
this  very  design  of  pleasing  is  still  but  a  different  manner  of  per- 
suasion that  the  orator  aims  at ;  for  he  pleases  others  to  inveigle 
their  affection,  that  he  may  thereby  persuade  them  to  what  advances 
his  interest. 

B.  You  cannot  but  own,  then,  that  men  often  speak  to  please. 
The  most  ancient  orators  had  this  view.  Cicero's  orations  plainly 
show  that  he  laboured  hard  for  reputation — and  who  will  not  believe 
the  same  of  Isocrates,  and  Demosthenes  too  1  All  the  panegyrists 
were  more  solicitous  for  their  own  honour,  than  for  the  fame  of  their 
heroes ;  and  they  extolled  a  prince's  glory  to  the  skies,  chiefly  be- 
cause they  hoped  to  be  admired  for  their  ingenious  manner  of 
praising  him.  This  ambition  seems  to  have  been  always  reckoned 
commendable,  both  among  the  Greeks  and  the  Romans;  and  such 
emulation  brought  eloquence  to  its  perfection  ;  it  inspired  men  with 
noble  thoughts  and  generous  sentiments,  by  which  the  ancient  re- 
publics were  made  to  flourish.  The  advantageous  light  in  which 
eloquence  appeared  in  great  assemblies,  and  the  ascendant  it  gave 
the  orator  over  the  people,  made  it  to  be  admired,  and  helped  to 
spread  polite  learning.  I  cannot  see  indeed  why  such  an  emula- 
tion should  be  blamed  even  among  Christian  orators ;  provided 
they  did  not  show  an  indecent  affectation  in  their  discourses,  nor  in 
the  least  enervate  the  precepts  of  the  gospel.  We  ought  not  to 
censure  what  animates  young  people,  and  forms  our  greatest 
preachers. 

A.  You  have  here  put  several  things  together,  which,  if  you 
please,  Sir,  we  will  consider  separately  ;  and  observe  some  method 
in  inquiring  what  we  ought  to  conclude  from  them.  But  let  us 
above  all  things  avoid  a  wrangling  humour ;  and  examine  the  sub- 
ject with  calmness  and  temper,  like  persons  who  are  afraid  of  noth- 
ing so  much  as  of  error ;  and  let  us  place  the  true  point  of  honour 
in  a  candid  acknowledgment  of  our  mistakes,  whenever  we  per- 
ceive them. 

B.  That  is  the  exact  state  of  my  mind,  or  at  least  I  judge  it  to 
be  so;  and  I  entreat  you  to  tell  me  when  you  find  me  transgressing 
this  equitable  rule. 

A.  We  will  not  as  yet  talk  of  what  relates  to  preachers ;  for 
that  point  may  be  more  seasonably  considered  afterwards.  Let  us 
begin  with  those  orators  whose  examples  you  vouched.  By  men- 
tioning Demosthenes  and  Isocrates  together,  you  disparage  the 
former ;    for  the  latter  was  a  lifeless  declaimer,  that  busied  himself 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  ll 

in  polishing  his  thoughts,  and  giving  an  harmonious  cadence  to  his 
periods.  He  had  a  very*  low  and  vulgar  notion  of  eloquence  ;  and 
placed  almost  the  whole  of  it  in  a  nice  disposal  of  his  words.  A 
man  who  employed  ten  or  (as  others  say)  fifteen  years,  in  smoothing 
the  periods  of  a  panegyric,  which  was  a  discourse  concerning  the 
necessities  of  Greece,  could  give  but  a  very  small  and  slow  relief 
to  the  republic,  against  the  enterprises  of  the  Persian  king.  De- 
mosthenes spoke  against  Philip  in  a  quite  different  manner.  You 
may  read  the  comparison  that  Dionysius  Halicarnassius  has  made 
of  these  two  orators,  and  see  there  the  chief  faults  he  observed  in 
Isocrates,  whose  discourses  are  vainly  gay  and  florid,  and  his  peri- 
ods adjusted  with  incredible  pains,  merely  to  please  the  ear  ;  while 
on  the  contrary,!  Demosthenes  moves,  warms,  and  captivates  the 
heart.  He  was  too  sensibly  touched  with  the  interest  of  his  country, 
to  mind  the  little  glittering  fancies  that  amused  Isocrates.  Every 
oration  of  Demosthenes  is  a  close  chain  of  reasoning,  that  repre- 
sents the  generous  notions  of  a  soul  who  disdains  any  thought  that 
is  not  great.  His  discourses  gradually  increase  in  force  by  greater 
light  and  new  reasons  ;  which  are  always  illustrated  by  bold  figures 
and  lively  images.  One  cannot  but  see  that  he  has  the  good  of  the 
republic  entirely  at  heart ;  and  that  nature  itself  speaks  in  all  his 
transports  ;  for  his  artful  address  is  so  masterly,  that  it  never  ap- 
pears. Nothing  ever  equalled  the  force  and  vehemence  of  his  dis- 
courses. Have  you  never  read  the  remarks  that  Longinus  made 
on  them,  in  his  treatise  of  the  Sublime  ? 

B.  No  :  is  not  that  the  treatise  that  Mr.  Boileau  translated  1 
Do  you  think  it  fine  ? 

A.     I  am  not  afraid  to  tell  you  that  I  think  it  surpasses  Aristotle's 

*  In  the  introduction  of  this  very  panegyric,  that  our  author  mentions,  Iso- 
crates says.  Such  is  the  nature  of  eloquence,  that  it  makes  great  things  appear 
little,  and  small  things  to  seem  great :  it  can  represent  old  things  as  new,  and 
new  things  as  if  they  were  old  ;  and  that  therefore  he  would  not  dechne  a 
subject  that  others  had  handled  before  him,  but  would  endeavour  to  declaim 
better  than  they.  Upon  which  Longinus  (§  38.)  makes  this  judicious  remark, 
That  by  giving  such  a  character  of  eloquence,  in  the  beginning  of  his  pane- 
gyric, the  orator  in  effect  cautioned  his  hearers  not  to  believe  his  discourse. 

t  In  oratoribus  vero,  Grsecis  quidem,  admirabile  est  quantum  inter  omnes 
unus  excellat.  Attamen  cum  esset  Demosthenes,  multi  oratores  magni,  et 
clari  fuerunt,  et  antea,  fuerant,  nee  postea  defecerunt.  Cic.  Orat.  §  2. 

Quid  denique  Demosthenes .''  non  cunctos  illos  tenues  et  circumspectos 
[oratores]  vi,  sublimitate,  impetu,  cultu,  compositione  superavit.?  non  insur- 
git  locis  .?  non  figuris  gaudet  ?  non  translationibus  nitet  ?  non  oratione  ficta 
dat  carentibus  vocem  ?  Quintil.  lib.  xii.  cap.  10. 


12  FENELON'S   DIALOGUES 

Rhetoric  ;  which,  though  it  be  a  very  solid  tract,  is  yet  clogged  with 
many  dry  precepts  that  are  rather  curious  than  fit  for  practice;  so 
that  it  is  more  proper  to  point  out  the  rules  ol  art  to  such  as  are 
already  eloquent,  than  to  give  us  a  just  taste  of  rhetoric,  and  to 
form  true  orators.  But  Longinus,  in  his  discourse  of  the  Sublime, 
intersperses  among  his  precepts  many  fine  examples  from  the 
greatest  authors,  to  illustrate  them.  He*  treats  of  the  Sublime  in 
a  lofty  manner,  as  his  translator  has  judiciously  observed.  He 
warms  our  fancy,  and  exalts  our  mind  ;  he  forms  our  taste  ;  and 
teaches  us  to  distinguish  what  is  either  fine  or  faulty,  in  the  most 
famous  ancient  writers. 

B.  Is  Longinus  such  a  wonderful  author  ?  Did  he  not  live  in 
the  days  of  Zenobia,  and  the  emperor  Aurelian  ? 

A.  Yes  ;  you  cannot  but  know  their  history. 

B.  Did  not  those  days  fall  vastly  short  of  the  politeness  of  for- 
mer ages?  and  can  you  imagine  that  an  author  who  flourished  in 
the  declension  of  learning  and  eloquence  had  a  better  taste  than 
Isocrates  1     I  cannot  believe  it. 

A.  I  was  surprised  myself,  to  find  it  so ;  but  you  need  only 
read  him,  to  be  convinced  of  it.  Though  he  lived  in  a  very  cor- 
rupted age,  he  formed  his  judgment  upon  the  ancient  models  ;  and 
has  avoided  almost  all  the  reigning  faults  of  his  own  time  ;  I  say 
almost  all,  for  I  must  own,  he  studied  rather  what  is  admirable, 
than  what  is  useful  ;  and  did  not  consider  eloquence  as  subservient 
to  morality,  nor  apply  it  to  direct  the  conduct  of  life.  And  in  this 
he  does  not  seem  to  have  had  such  solid  views  as  the  ancient 
Greeks,  and  especially  some  of  their  philosophers.  But  we  ought 
to  forgive  him  a  failing,  for  which  Isocrates  w^as  far  more  remark- 
able, though  he  lived  in  a  more  refined  age.  And  this  defect  ought 
the  rather  to  be  overlooked  in  a  particular  discourse,  where  Lon- 
ginus does  not  treat  of  what  is  proper  to  instruct  men,  but  of  what 
is  apt  to  move  and  seize  their  passions.  I  choose  to  recommend 
this  author,  Sir,  because  he  will  help  to  explain  my  meaning  to  you. 
You  will  see  what  a  glorious  character  he  gives  of  Demosthenes, 

*  Thee,  bold  Longinus  !  all  the  nine  inspire. 
And  bless  their  critic  with  a  poet's  fire  : 
An  ardent  judge,  who,  zealous  in  his  trust, 
With  warmth  gives  sentence,  yet  is  always  just ; 
Whose  own  example  strengthens  all  his  laws, 
And  is  himself  that  great  Sublime  he  draws. 

Mr.  Papers  Essay  on  Criticism,  p.  45. 


CONCERNING   ELOQUENCE.  13 

from  whom  he  quotes  several  passages  that  are  most  sublime  ;  he 
will  likewise  show  you  those  faults  of  Isocrates  that  I  mentioned. 
If  you  be  unwilling  to  take  the  trouble  of  becoming  acquainted 
with  these  authors,  by  reading  their  works,  you  may  get  a  very 
just  nation  of  them  by  consulting  Longinus.  Let  us  now  leave 
Isocrates,  and  talk  of  Demosthenes  and  Cicero. 

B.  You  are  for  leaving  Isocrates,  because  he  is  not  for  your 
purpose. 

A.  Let  us  go  on  then  with  Isocrates,  since  you  are  not  yet  con- 
vinced ;  and  let  us  judge  of  his  rhetoric  by  the  rules  of  eloquence 
itself;  and  by  the  sentiments  of  Plato,  the  most*  eloquent  writer 
among  the  ancients.     Will  you  be  determined  by  him '/ 

B.  I  will  be  determined  by  him,  if  he  be  in  the  right :  but  I 
never  resign  my  judgment  implicitly  to  any  author. 

A,  Remember  this  rule;  it  is  all  that  I  ask  of  you.  And  if 
you  do  not  let  some  fashionable  prejudices  bias  your  judgment,  rea- 
son will  soon  convince  you  of  the  truth.  I  would  therefore  have 
you  believe  neither  Isocrates  nor  Plato;  but  judge  of  them  both  by 
clear  principles.  Now  I  suppose  you  will  grant  that  the  chief  end 
of  eloquence  is  to  persuade  men  to  embrace  truth  and  virtue. 

B.  I  am  not  of  your  mind  ;  this  is  what  I  have  already  denied. 

A,  I  will  endeavour  to  prove  it  then.  Eloquence,  if  I  mistake 
not,  may  be  considered  in  three  respects  ;  as  the  art  of  enforcing 
truth  on  people's  minds,  and  of  making  them  better ;  as  an  art  in- 
different in  itself,  which  wicked  men  may  use  as  well  as  good,  and 
which  may  be  applied  to  recommend  injustice  and  error  as  well  as 
probity  and  truth ;  and,  as  an  art  which  selfish  men  may  use  to  in- 
gratiate themselves  with  others,  to  raise  their  reputation,  and  make 
their  fortune.     Which  of  these  ends  do  you  admit  of? 

B.  I  allow  of  them  all.  What  do  you  infer  from  this  conces- 
sion 1 

A,     The  inference  will  afterwards   appear.     Have  patience  a 

*  Sed  ego  neque  illis  assentiebar,  neque  haruin  disputationum  inventori,  et 
principi  longe  omnium  in  dicendo  gxdi\\&s'\.mo,ei  Eloqucntissimo  Platonic  c\i\\is 
tum  Athenis  cum  Carneade  diligentius  legi  Georgium  quo  in  libro,  hoc  max- 
ime  admirabar  Platonem,  quod  mihi  in  oratoribus  irridendis,  ipse  esse  Orator 
Summus  videbatur.  Cic.  de  Orat.  lib.  1.  §  2. 

Quid  denique  Demosthenes  ? — non  illud  jusjurandum  per  csesos  in  Mara- 
thone  ac  Salamine  propugnatores  reipubiicae.  satis  manifesto  docet  praecepto- 
rem  ejus  Platonem  fuisse  ?  quem  ipsum  num  Asianum  appelabimus  plerum- 
que  instinctis  divino  spiritu  vatibus  comparandum  ? 

Quint,  lib.  xii.  cap.  10.     See  Longinus,  §  xiii. 


14  FENELON'S  DIALOGUES 

little  ;  and  be  satisfied,  if  I  say  nothing  but  what  is  evidently  true, 
till  by  gradual  advances  I  lead  you  to  the  right  conclusion.  Of  the 
three  ends  of  eloquence,  I  now  mentioned,  you  will  undoubtedly 
prefer  the  first. 

B.     Yes  :  it  is  the  best. 

A.  What  think  you  of  the  second? 

B.  I  see  what  you  aim  at ;  you  are  going  into  a  fallacy.  The 
second  sort  is  faulty,  because  of  the  ill  use  the  orator  makes  of  his 
eloquence,  to  enforce  error  and  vice.  But  still  the  rhetoric  of  a 
wicked  man  may  be  good  in  itself,  though  the  use  he  makes  of  it 
be  pernicious.  Now  we  are  talking  of  the  nature  and  rules  of  elo- 
quence ;  not  of  the  uses  it  should  be  applied  to.  Let  us  keep  to 
the  true  state  of  the  question. 

A.  If  you  will  do  me  the  favour  to  hear  me  a  little,  you  will 
find  that  I  have  the  point  in  dispute  always  in  view.  You  seem 
then  to  condemn  the  second  sort  of  eloquence  :  or,  to  speak  with- 
out ambiguity,  you  condemn  the*  abuse  of  rhetoric. 

B.  Right.  You  now  speak  correctly,  so  far  then  we  are 
agreed. 

A.  What  say  you  of  the  third  end  of  eloquence ;  I  mean  the 
orator's  endeavouring  to  please  others  by  talking ;  that  he  may 
raise  his  reputation  or  his  fortune. 

B.  You  know  my  opinion  already.  I  reckon  such  an  use  of 
eloquence  very  fair  and  allowable ;  seeing  it  excites  a  laudable  em- 
ulation and  helps  to  improve  men's  talents. 

A.  What  kind  of  talents  would  you  have  chiefly  improved  ? 
Suppose  you  had  some  new  state,  or  commonwealth,  to  model,  in 
what  kinds  of  knowledge  would  you  have  the  subjects  trained  up 
and  instructed  1 

B.  In  every  kind  that  could  make  therh  better.  I  would  en- 
deavour to  make  them  good  subjects,  peaceable,  obedient,  and 
zealous  for  the  public  welfare.     I   would  have  them  fit  to  defend 

*  When  I  consider  the  means  of  happy  living  (says  an  eloquent  writer) 
and  the  causes  of  their  corruption,  I  can  hardly  forbear  recanting  what  I  said 
before  ;  and  concluding,  that  eloquence  ought  to  be  banished  out  of  all  civil 
societies  as  a  thing  fatal  to  peace  and  good  manners.  To  this  opinion  I 
should  wholly  incline,  if  I  did  not  find,  that  it  is  a  weapon  which  may  be 
as  easily  procured  by  bad  men,  as  by  good  :  and  that  if  these  only  should 
cast  it  away,  and  those  retain  it ;  the  naked  innocence  of  virtue  would  be 
upon  all  occasions  exposed  to  the  armed  malice  of  the  wicked. 

Bishop  Sprafs  Hist,  of  the  Royal  Society,  p.  iii. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  15 

their  country  in  case  of  war;  and  in  peace  to  observe  and  support 
the  laws,  to  govern  their  fanjilies,  cultivate  their  lands,  train  up 
their  children  to  the  practice  of  virtue,  and  inspire  them  with  a 
strong  and  just  sense  of  religion.  I  would  have  them  carry  on  such 
a  trade  as  the  state  and  necessities  of  the  country  might  require, 
and  apply  themselves  to  such  arts  and  sciences  as  are  useful  in 
common  life.  These  I  think  ought  to  be  the  chief  aims  of  a  law- 
giver. 

A.     Your  views  are  very  just  and  solid.     You  would  then  have 
subjects  averse  to  laziness  ;  and  employed  about  such  useful  things 
as  should  tend  some  way  or  other  to  advance  the  public  good. 
,     jB.     Certainly. 

A.  And  would  you  exclude  all  useless  professions  ? 

B.  Yes. 

A.  You  would  allow  only  of  such  bodily  exercises  as  conduced 
to  people's  health  and  strength.  I  do  not  mention  the  beauty  of 
the  body,  for  that  is  a  natural  consequence  of  health  and  vigour,  in 
bodies  that  are  duly  formed. 

J3.     I  would  suffer  no  other  exercises. 

A.  Would  you  not  therefore  banish  all  those  that  serve  only  to 
amuse  people,  and  cannot  render  them  fitter  to  bear  either  the 
constant  labours  and  employments  of  peace,  or  the  fatigues  of 
war? 

JB.     Yes  ;  I  should  follow  that  rule. 

A.  I  suppose  you  would  do  it  for  the  same  reason  that  you 
would  likewise  condemn  (as  you  already  granted,)  all  those  exer- 
cises of  the  mind  which  do  not  conduce  to  render  it  more  strong, 
sound,  and  beautiful ;  by  making  it  more  virtuous. 

S.  It  is  so.  What  do  you  infer  from  that  ?  I  do  not  yet  see 
your  drift  :  your  windings  are  very  long. 

A.  Why  ;  I  would  argue  from  the  plainest  principles  ;  and  not 
advance  the  least  step,  without  carrying  light  and  certainty  along 
with  us.     Answer  me  then,  if  you  please. 

JB.  Seeing  we  lay  down  the  rule  you  last  mentioned,  for  the 
management  of  the  body,  there  is  certainly  greater  reason  to  follow 
it  in  the  conduct  and  improvement  of  the  mind. 

A.  Would  you  permit  such  arts  as  are  only  subservient  to  plea- 
sure, amusement,  and  vain  curiosity ;  and  have  no  relation  either 
to  the  duties  of  domestic  life,  or  the  common  offices  of  society  ? 

S,     I  would  banish  all  such  from  my  commonwealth. 
38 


tS  FENELON'S  DIALOGUES. 

A.  If  you  allowed  of  mathematicians,  then,  it  would  be  for  the 
sake  of  mechanics,  navigation,  surveying  of  land,  the  fortification 
of  places,  and  such  calculations  as  are  useful  in  practice,  ^c.  So 
that  it  is  the  usefulness  of  the  mathematics  that  would  recommend 
them  to  your  patronage.  And  if  you  tolerated  physicians  and  law- 
yers, it  would  be  for  the  preservation  of  health,  and  the  support  of 
justice. 

B.  Right. 

A.  And  with  the  same  view  of  usefulness  you  would  admit  of 
all  other  serviceable  professions. 

B.  Certainly. 

A.  But  how  would  you  treat  the  musicians  ? 

B.  I  would  encourage  them. 

A.  Would  you  not  lay  them  under  some  proper  restraint,  ac- 
cording to  the  judgment  and  practice  of  the  ancient  Greeks,  who 
always  joined  pleasure  and  usefulness  together  7 

B.  Explain  yourself  a  little. 

A.  Though  they  joined  music  and  poetry  together,  and  carried 
both  these  arts  to  the  greatest  perfection  ;  they  applied  them  to  in- 
spire people's  minds  with  fortitude,  and  noble  thoughts.  They 
used  poetry  and  music  to  prepare  them  for  battle,  and  carried 
musicians  and  their  various  instruments  to  war.  Hence  came 
drums  and  trumpets,  which  raised  in  them  a  spirit  of  enthusiasm, 
and  a  sort  of  fury  that  they  call  divine.  It  was  by  music,  and  the 
charms  of  verse,  that  they  softened  savage  nations ;  and  by  the 
same  harmony,  they  sweetly  instilled  wisdom  into  their  children. 
They  made  them  sing  Homer's  verses  to  inspire  their  minds  with 
the  love  of  glory,  liberty,  and  their  native  country  ;  and  with  a  con- 
tempt of  death,  and  riches,  and  effeminate  pleasure.  They  gave 
their  very  dances  a  grave  and  serious  turn  ;  for  it  is  certain  they 
danced  not  merely  for  the  sake  of  pleasure.  We  see,  by  David's 
example,t  that  the  eastern  people  reckoned  dancing  a  serious  kind 
of  employment,  like  music,  and  poetry.  The  mysterious  dances  of 
the  priests  were  adopted  by  the  heathens  among  their  ceremonies, 
OH  solemn  festivals,  in  honour  of  their  gods.  There  were  a  thou- 
sand instructions  couched  under  their  poems,  and  their  fables; 
nay,  their  most  grave  and  austere  philosophy  always  appear- 
ed with  an  air  of  gaiety  and  good  humour.  All  those  arts  that 
consisted  either  in  melodious  sounds,  regular  motions  of  the  body, 
or  the  use  of  words  j  music,  dancing,  eloquence,  and  poetry,  were 

*2Sani.'vi.  5,  14. 


'  CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  17 

invented  to  express  the  passions  ;  and,  by  that  means,  to  communi- 
cate these  passions  to  others.  Thus  did  they  endeavour  to  convey 
noble  sentiments  to  people's  minds,  and  give  them  lively,  affecting 
views  of  the  beauty  of  virtue,  and  the  deformity  of  vice.  So  that 
all  these  arts,  under  the  show  of  pleasure,  favoured  the  most  seri- 
ous designs  of  the  ancients,  and  were  used  to  promote  morality  and 
religion.  Even  the  diversion  of  hunting  was  encouraged  to  train 
up  the  youth  for  war.  Their  strongest  pleasures  contained  always 
some  solid  instruction  :  From  which  source  flowed  those  many  he- 
roic virtues  in  Greece,  which  all  ages  have  since  admired.  It  is 
true,  this  first  kind  of  instruction  was  afterwards  changed,  and  of 
itself  was  accompanied  with  remarkable  defects.  The  chief  fault 
of  it  was  its  being  founded  on  a  false  and  pernicious  scheme  of  re- 
ligion, in  which  the  Greeks,  and  all  the  ancient  sages  of  the  heath- 
en world  were  strangely  deceived,  being  plunged  into  gross  idola- 
try. But  notwithstanding  this  fundamental  mistake,  they  chose  a 
very  proper  way  of  inspiring  men  with  religion  and  virtue  ;  their 
method  was  wise,  agreeable,  and  apt  to  make  a  lively,  lasting  im- 
pression. 

C.  You  said  that  this  first  institution  was  afterwards  changed  r 
pray,  how  did  it  happen  ? 

A.  Though  virtue  gives  men  the  true  politeness  ;  if  great  care 
be  not  taken,  politeness  gradually  degenerates  into  an  unmanly 
softness.  The  Asiatic  Greeks  fell  first  into  this  corruption^  The 
lonians  grew  effeminate,  and  all  that  coast  of  Asia  was  a  theatre  of 
luxury.  The  Cretans  too  became  corrupted,  notwithstanding  the 
wise  laws  of  Minos.  You  know  the*  verse  that  St.  Paul  quotes 
from  one  of  their  own  poets.  Corinth  was  remarkable  for  its  ex- 
cessive riot  and  dissoluteness.  The  Romans,  as  yet  unpolished, 
began  to  fall  into  such  practices  as  quite  relaxed  their  rustic  vir- 
tue. Athens  was  not  free  from  the  general  contagion,  with  which 
Greece  was  all  over  infected.  Pleasure,  which  was  used  at  first  as 
the  means  to  convey  wisdom  into  people's  minds,  usurped  the 
place  of  wisdom  itself;  and  in  vain  did  the  philosophers  remon- 
strate against  this  disorder.  Socrates  arose,  and  showed  his  de- 
luded fellow  citizens  that  the  pleasure,  about  which  they  were 
entirely  employed,  ought  only  to  be  used  as  the  vehicle  of  wisdom,^ 

*  Kg»TS$  etii  ■'pivgxi^  xxKci  Q^tct^  ycc^ifig  u^yft,. 

Tit.  i.  12. 


18  FENELON'S  DIALOGUES 

and  an  incentive  to  virtue.  Plato,  his  disciple,  (who  was  not 
ashamed  to  compose  his  dialogues  on  the  plan  and  subject  of  his 
master's  discourses,)  banished  from  his  republic  all  such  musical 
notes,  scenes  of  tragedy,  and  poetical  compositions,  (even  such  parts 
of  Homer  himself,)  as  did  not  incline  people  to  love  order  and 
wise  laws.  This,  Sir,  was  the  judgment  of  Socrates  and  Plato  con- 
cerning poets  and  musicians  :  do  you  approve  of  it? 

B.  I  am  entirely  of  their  mind  ;  and  would  allow  of  nothing 
that  is  useless.  Since  we  may  find  pleasure  enough  in  solid  and 
valuable  things,  we  ought  not  to  seek  for  it  elsewhere.  In  order 
to  recommend  virtue  to  men's  esteem  and  practice,  we  must  show 
them  that  it  is  consistent  with  pleasure;  and,  on  the  contrary,  if 
we  separate  pleasure  from  virtue,  people  will  be  strongly  tempted  to 
forsake  a  virtuous  course.  Besides,  that  which  gives  pleasure  only, 
without  instruction,  can  at  best  but  amuse  and  soften  the  mind. 
Do  not  you  see.  Sir,  how  much  a  philosopher  I  am  become  by  hear- 
ing you  ?  But  let  us  go  on  to  the  end  :  for  we  are  not  yet  perfectly 
agreed. 

Ji.  I  hope  we  shall  be  very  quickly.  And  since  you  have  grown 
so  much  a  philosopher,  give  me  leave  to  ask  you  one  question  more. 
We  have  obliged  musicians  and  poets  to  employ  their  art  only  for 
promoting  virtue  ;  and  the  subjects  of  your  new  republic  are  de- 
barred from  all  such  spectacles  as  can  only  please  and  not  instruct 
them.     But  what  would  you  do  with  conjurers? 

B.  They  are  impostors  that  ought  to  be  banished  from  all  so- 
cieties. 

A.  They  do  no  harm.  You  cannot  think  they  are  sorcerers ; 
so  that  you  have  no  reason  to  be  afraid  of  their  practising  any  dia- 
bolical art. 

B.  No,  1  do  not  fear  that ;  nor  should  I  give  the  least  credit  to 
any  of  their  senseless  stories.  But  they  do  harm  enough  by  amus- 
ing the  common  people.  I  will  not  suffer  such  idle  persons  in  my 
commonwealth,  as  divert  others  from  their  business,  and  have  no 
other  employment  but  to  amuse  people  with  foolish  talk. 

A.  But,  perhaps,  they  get  a  livelihood  that  way,  and  lay  up 
wealth  for  themselves,  and  their  families. 

B.  iSo  matter;  they  must  find  out  some  honest  way  of  living. 
It  is  not  enough  that  they  seek  a  livelihood  ;  they  must  gain  it  by 
some  employment  that  is  useful  to  the  public.  I  say  the  same  of 
all  those  strolling  vagabonds  who  amuse  crowds  with  silly  prattle 
and  foolish  songs.     For  though  they  should  never  lie,  nor  say  any 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  19 

thing  that  is  immodest,  their  being  useless  to  the  public  is  guilt 
enough.  So  that  they  ought  either  to  be  excluded  from  soci- 
ety, or  compelled  to  follow  some  useful  occupation. 

A.  Would  you  not  at  least  tolerate  tragedians,  provided  they 
represent  no  scenes  of  immodesty  or  extravagant  love  ?  1  do  not 
ask  you  this  question  as  a  Christian ;  answer  only  as  a  lawgiver, 
and  a  philosopher. 

B.  If  tragedies  did  not  conduce  to  instruction  as  well  as  to 
pleasure,  1  should  condemn  them. 

A.  Right.  In  that  you  are  exactly  of  Plato's  opinion  ;  for  he 
would  not  allow  of  any  poems  or  tragedies  in  his  republic,  that 
should  not  first  be  examined  by  the  guardians  of  the  laws ;  Jhat  so 
the  people  might  neither  hear  nor  see  any  thing  but  what  should 
tend  to  strengthen  the  laws  and  promote  virtue.  In  this  you  like- 
wise fall  in  with  the  sentiments  of  other  ancient  authors,  who  judg- 
ed that  tragedy  ought  to  turn  chiefly  upon  two  passions ;  either  the 
terror  that  arises  from  a  view  of  the  fatal  effects  of  vice,  or  that 
compassion  which  accompanies  the  representation  of  an  oppressed 
and  steady  virtue.  Sophocles  and  Euripides  wrote  with  these  views, 
and  always  endeavoured  to  excite  either  pity  or  terror. 

B.  I  remember  I  have  met  with  this  last  rule  in  Mr.  Boileau's 
Art  of  Poetry. 

A.  You  are  right.  He  is  a  man  that  knows  perfectly  well  not 
only  the  foundation  of  poetry,  but  likewise  the  solid  aim  to  which 
philosophy — superior  to  all  arts — ought  to  direct  the  poet. 

B.  But  whither  are  you  leading  me  all  this  while  1 

A.  1  lead  you  no  farther ;  you  guide  yourself  now,  and  are 
happily  come  to  the  conclusion  I  first  proposed.  Have  you  not 
said,  that  in  your  republic,  you  would  not  suffer  idle  people  who 
amuse  others,  and  have  no  other  business  but  merely  to  talk  ?  Is 
it  not  upon  this  principle  that  you  would  exclude  all  such  tragedies 
as  do  not  convey  instruction  as  well  as  pleasure  ?  Now,  will  you 
suffer  that  to  be  done  in  prose,  that  you  will  not  tolerate  in  verse  1 
After  such  a  just  rigour  against  useless  poetry,  how  can  you  show 
any  favour  to  those*  declaimers  who  talk  only  to  show  their  parts  1 

*  Who  can  behold,  without  indignation,  how  many  mists  and  uncertainties 
these  specious  tropes  and  figures  have  brought  on  our  knowledge  ?  how  many 
rewards,  that  are  due  to  more  profitable  and  difficult  arts,  have  been  still 
snatched  away  by  the  easy  vanity  of  fine  speaking ;  for  now  I  am  warmed 
with  this  just  anger,  I  cannot  withhold  myself  from  betraying  the  shallow- 
ness of  all  those  seeming  mysteries,  upon  which  we  writers  and  speakers 


90!  FENELON'S   DIALOGUES 

B.  But  these  orators  we  were  speaking  of,  have  two  designs 
that  are  commendable. 

A.  What  are  they  1 

B.  The  first  is  to  maintain  themselves  ;  for,  by  their  profession, 
they  procure  a  subsistence.  Their  rhetoric  gets  them  repute  ;  and 
this  brings  along  with  it  that  wealth  they  stand  in  need  of. 

A.  You  yourself  have  already  answered  this  pretence  ;  for,  did 
you  not  say  that  it  is  not  enough  that  one  gains  a  livelihood,  unless 
he  get  it  by  some  employment  that  is  useful  to  the  public?  He  who 
should  represent  tragedies  that  give  no  instruction,  might  get  his 
bread  by  them ;  but  this  would  not  hinder  you  from  driving  him 
out  of  your  commonwealth.  You  would  say  to  him,  '  Go  choose 
some  regular,  useful  employment ;  and  do  not  divert  your  neigh- 
bours from  their  business.  If  you  would  have  a  lawful  gain  from 
them,  apply  yourself  to  do  them  some  real  service,  or  to  make  them 
more  wise  and  virtuous.'  Now  why  should  you  not  say  the  same 
to  the  rhetoricians  ? 

B.  But  I  have  a  second  reason  to  offer  for  tolerating  them. 

A.  Pray,  let  us  hear  it. 

B.  Why,  the  orator  serves  the  public. 

A.  In  what? 

B.  He  improves  people's  minds,  and  teaches  them  eloquence. 
A.     Suppose  I  should  invent  some   fantastic  art,  or  imaginary 

language,  that  could  not  be  of  any  use ;  could  I  serve  the  public 
by  teaching  such  a  senseless  language,  or  silly  art  ? 

J5.  No ;  because  one  cannot  serve  others  as  a  master,  unless  he 
could  teach  them  something  that  is  useful, 

A.  You  cannot  prove  then  that  an  orator  serves  the  public,  by 
his  teaching  eloquence,  unless  you  could  first  show  that  it  is  an 
useful  art.  Of  what  use  are  a  man's  fine  thoughts  if  they  do  not 
advance  the  public  good  ?  I  am  very  sensible  that  they  are  advan- 
tageous to  himself,  for  they  dazzle  his  hearers,  who  have  so  bad  a 
taste  that  they  will  applaud  his  skill,  and  even  reward  him  for  his 
useless  talk.      But  ought  you  to  suffer  such  a  mercenary,  fruitless 

look  so  big.  And  in  few  words,  I  dare  sa}'-,  that  of  all  the  studies  of  men, 
nothing  may  be  sooner  obtained,  than  this  vicious  abundance  of  phrase,  this 
trick  of  metaphors,  this  volubility  of  tongue,  which  makes  so  great  noise  in 
the  world.  But  I  spend  words  in  vain  ;  for  the  evil  is  now  so  inveterate,  that 
it  is  hard  to  know  whom  to  blame,  or  where  to  begin  to  reform.  We  all 
value  one  another  so  much  upon  this  beautiful  deceit,  and  labour  so  long 
after  it,  in  the  years  of  our  education,  that  we  cannot  byt  ever  think  kinder 
of  it  than  it  deserves.  Bishop  SpraVs  Hist,  of  the  Royal  Society,  p.  112. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  21 

eloquence  in  the  government  you  have  to  model  ?  A  shoemaker  is 
serviceable  in  his  way,  and  maintains  his  family  with  what  he  gains 
by  supplying  other  people's  necessities.  So  that  you  see  the  most 
ordinary  employments  tend  to  some  useful  purpose  ;  and  there  is 
no  other  art  but  the  rhetorician's  that  serves  only  to  amuse  people 
with  talking.  In  fine,  such  eloquence  can  only,  on  the  one  hand, 
satisfy  the  vain  curiosity  of  the  hearers,  and  encourage  their  idle- 
ness ;  and,  on  the  other,  gratify  the  declaimer's  pride  and  ambition. 
But,  for  the  honour  of  your  republic,  Sir,  do  not  tolerate  such  an 
abuse. 

B.  I  must  grant  that  an  orator's  aim  should  be  to  make  people 
more  wise  and  virtuous. 

A.  Do  not  forget  this ;  you  shall  see  the  consequences  of  it  by 
and  by, 

B.  Notwithstanding  this  concession,  he  who  is  employed  in 
instructing  others,  may  at  the  same  time  endeavour  to  acquire  rep- 
utation and  wealth  for  himself. 

A.  I  told  you  before,  that  we  are  not  now  handling  the  point 
as  Christians  ;  I  need  only  use  philosophy  against  you.  Let  me 
put  you  in  mind  that  you  grant  an  orator  is  obliged  to  instruct  oth- 
ers with  a  design  to  improve  them  in  virtue.  Thus  ^e  get  rid  of 
all  useless  declaimers.  We  ought  not  even  to  suffer  panegyrists 
any  farther  than  they  render  true  wisdom  and  probity  more  amiable 
by  their  praises  ;  and  propose  models  of  virtue*  and  valour  that  are 
worthy  of  imitation. 

B.  What,  then,  is  a  panegyric  good  for  nothing,  unless  it  be 
full  of  morality  1 

A.  Have  you  not  granted  this  already  ?  Instruction  is  the  proper 
end  of  speech ;  and  the  only  good  reason  for  praising  any  hero,  is, 
that  we  may  represent  his  worth  to  others,  in  order  to  excite  their 
emulation,  and  to  show  them  that  virtue  and  true  glory  are  insepa- 
rable. Therefore  a  panegyric  should  be  kept  free  from  all  general, 
excessive,  flattering  praises  ;  and  such  barren  thoughts  as  do  not 
afford  the  least  instruction.  Every  thing  should  tend  to  make  the 
hearers  in  love  with  what  is  truly  great  and  good.     But  we  find 

*  Perspicuum  est  igitur  aha  esse  in  homine  optanda,  alia  lau  danda.  Genus, 
forma,  vires,  opes,  divitiae,  ceteraque  quae  fortuna  det,  aut  extrinsecus,  aut 
corpori,  non  habent  in  se  veram  laudem,  quse  deberi  Virtuti  uni  putatur.  Vir- 
tus autem  quae  est  per  se  ipsa  laudabilis,  et  sine  qua  nihil  laudari  potest,  taraen 
habet  plures  partes,  quarum  alia  est  ad  laudationem  aptior. 

Cic.  de  Orat.  lib.  ii. 


22  FENELON'S  DIALOGUES 

that  most  panegyrists  seem  to  magnify  particular  virtues,  only  that 
they  may  the  more  effectually  praise  those  that  practised  them,  and 
set  off  their  heroes  to  greater  advantage.  When  they  have  any  one 
to  praise,  they  exalt  his  peculiar  virtues  far  above  all  others.  But 
every  thing  has  its  turn ;  and,  on  another  occasion,  those  very 
qualities,  which  they  preferred  before,  must  now  give  place  to  some 
other  virtues,  that  come  in  course  to  be  extolled  to  the  highest 
pitch.  In  this  respect,  1  think  Pliny  is  to  be  blamed.  If  he  had 
praised  Trajan  as  a  fit  model  for  other  heroes  to  copy  after,  this 
would  have  been  a  design  worthy  of  an  orator.  But  the  praise  of 
that  prince  (however  deserving  he  was)  ought  not  to  have  been 
Pliny's  chief  aim.  Trajan  should  only  have  been  proposed  to  man » 
kind  as  an  imitable  example,  to  allure  them  to  virtue.  When  a 
panegyrist  has  such  a  mean  view,  as  to  praise  the  person,  rather 
than  the  virtues  that  render  him  conspicuous,  this  is  only  flattery 
addressed  to  pride. 

B.  What  think  you  then  of  those  poems  that  were  made  in 
praise  of  ancient  heroes?  Homer  has  his  Achilles,  and  Virgil  his 
iEneas.     Will  you  condemn  these  two  poets  ? 

A.  By  no  means,  Sir ;  do  but  examine  the  design  of  their 
works.  In  the  Iliad,  Achilles  is  the  chief  hero  ;  but  his  praise  is 
not  the  main  end  of  the  poem.  His  character  is  faithfully  drawn 
with  all  its  defects  ;  nay,  these  very  defects  are  a  part  of  that  in- 
struction which  the  poet  designed  to  convey  to  posterity.  The 
great  design  of  this  work  was  to  inspire  the  Greeks  with  the  love 
of  warlike  glory  ;  and  a  dread  of  discord,  as  the  greatest  obstacle 
to  success.  This  moral  instruction  is  plainly  interwoven  through- 
out the  poem.  The  Odyssey  indeed  represents,  in  Ulysses,  a  hero 
more  regular  and  more  accomplished  ;  but  this  is  still  natural. 
For,  of  course,  a  man,  like  Ulysses,  whose  chief  character  is  wisdom, 
must  be  more  wary,  and  uniform  in  his  conduct,  that  such  a  rough, 
warm,  forward  youth  as  Achilles.  So  that  in  drawing  both  these 
heroes,  Homer  seems  only  to  have  copied  nature.  In  fine,  through- 
out the  Odyssey  we  find  innumerable  instructions  for  the  whole 
conduct  of  life ;  and  one  cannot  but  observe  that  the  poet's 
design,  in  describing  a  prudent  man,  whose  wisdom  makes  him 
always  successful,  was  to  show  posterity  what  good  effects  might  be 
expected  from  prudent  piety,  and  a  regular  life.  Virgil,  in  his 
iEneid,  has  imitated  the  Odyssey  in  his  hero's  character ;  and  has 
drawn  him  brave,  moderate,  pious,  and  steady.  But  it  is  evident  that 
the  praise  of  iEneas  was  not  the  poet's  principal  aim.     That  hero 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  -  23 

was  designed  to  represent  the  Roman  people,  who  descended  from 
him ;  and  Virgil  meant  to  show  them  that  their  extraction  was  di- 
vine ;  that  the  gods  had  destined  them  to  govern  the  world ;  and 
by  this  he  animated  them  to  the  practice  of  such  heroic  virtues  as 
might  support  the  glory  designed  for  them.  Now  a  heathen  could 
not  possibly  devise  a  nobler  moral  than  this.  The  only  fault  of 
which  Virgil  can  be  suspected,  is  his  having  had  his  private  inter- 
est too  much  in  view  ;  and  his  turning  his  excellent  poem  to  the 
praise  of  Augustus,  and  his  family,  with  too  great  an  air  of  flat- 
tery.   But  we  ought  not  to  criticise  any  author  too  severely. 

B.  But  will  you  not  allow  a  poet,  or  an  orator,  to  seek  his  for- 
tune in  an  honourable  way  ? 

A.  After  thi^s  useful  digression  concerning  panegyrics,  we  now 
return  to  the  difficulty  you  proposed.  The  question  is,  whether  an 
orator  ought  to  be  entirely  disinterested  ? 

B.  I  do  not  think  that  he  ought :  for  this  would  overturn  the 
most  common  maxims. 

A.  In  your  republic,  would  you  not  have  orators  obliged  to  the 
strictest  rules  of  truth?  Do  you  not  own  that  they  ought  never  to 
speak  in  public,  but  in  order  to  instruct  people,  to  reform  their  con- 
duct, and  strengthen  the  laws  ? 

B.  Yes. 

A.  An  orator  then  should  have  nothing  either  to  hope  or  fear 
from  his  hearers,  with  regard  to  his  own  interest.  If  you  allowed 
of  ambitious*  mercenary  declaimers,  do  you  think  they  would  op- 
pose all  the  foolish,  unruly  passions  of  men?  If  they  themselves  be 
subject  to  avarice,  ambition,  luxury,  and  such  shameful  disorders, 
will  they  be  able  to  cure  others  ?  If  they  seek  after  wealth,  can 
they  be  fit  to  disengage  others  from  that  mean  pursuit  ?  I  grant, 
that  a  virtuous  and  disinterested  orator  ought  always  to  be  supplied 
with  the  conveniences  of  life  ,  nor  can  he  ever  want  them,  if  he  be 
a  true  philosopher  ;  I  mean,  such  a  wise  and  worthy  person  as  is 
fit  to  reform  the  manners  of  men ;  for  then  he  will  live  after  a  plain, 
modest,   frugal,  laborious  manner :  he  will   have  occasion  but  for 

*  Jam  hoc  quis  non  videt,  maximam  partem  orationis  in  tractatu  sequi 
bonique  consistere  ?  dicetne  de  his  secundum  dibitam  rerum  dignitatem 
malus  atque  iniquus  ?  denique — demus  id  quod  nullo  modo  fieri  potest,  idim 
ingenii,  studii,  doctrinae,  pessimo,  atque  optimo  viro,  uter  melior  dicetur  ora- 
tor ?  nimirum  qui  homo  quoque  melior.  Non  igitur  unquam  malus  idem 
homo,  et  perfectus  orator.     Quint,  lib.  xiii.  c.  1. 

29 


24  FENELON'S    DIALOGUES 

little,  and  that  little  he  will  never  want ;  though,  he  should  earn  it 
with  his  own  hands.  Now,  what  is  superfluous  ought  not  to  be  of- 
fered him,  as  the  recompense  of  his  public  services,  and  indeed  it 
is  not  worthy  of  his  acceptance.  He  may  have  honour  and  author- 
ity conferred  on  him ;  but  if  he  be  master  of  his  passions,  as  we 
suppose,  and  above  selfish  views,  he  will  use  this  authority  only  for 
the  public  good ;  and  be  ready  to  resign  it,  when  he  can  no  longer 
enjoy  it  without  flattery  or  dissimulation.  In  short,  an  orator  can- 
not be  fit  to  persuade  people,  unless  he  be  inflexibly  upright ;  for, 
without  this  steady  virtue,  his  talents  and  address  would,  like  a 
mortal  poison,  infect  and  destroy  the  body  politic.  For  this  reason, 
Cicero*  thought  that  virtue  is  the  chief  and  most  essential  quality 
of  an  orator,  and  that  he  should  be  a  person  of  such  unspotted  pro- 
bity as  to  be  a  pattern  to  his  fellow-citizens ;  without  which  he 
cannot  even  seem  to  be  convinced  himself  of  what  he  says;  and 
consequently,  he  cannot  persuade  others. 

B.  I  am  sensible  there  is  a  great  deal  of  weight  in  what  you 
say ;  but  after  all,  may  not  a  man  fairly  employ  his  talents  to  raise 
himself  in  the  world  ? 

A.  Let  us  look  back  always  to  the  principles  we  laid  down. 
We  have  agreed  that  eloquence,  and  the  profession  of  an  orator, 
should  be  devoted  to  the  instruction  of  the  people,  and  the  refor- 
mation of  their  practice.  Now,  to  do  this  with  freedom  and  suc- 
cess, a  man  must  be  disinterested,  and  must  teach  others  to  con- 
temn death,  and  riches,  and  unmanly  pleasure.  He  must  infuse 
into  their  minds  the  love  of  moderation,  frugality,  a  generous  con- 
cern for  the  public  good,  and  an  inviolable  regard  to  the  laws  and 
constitution  :  and  the  orator's  zeal  for  all  these  must  appear  in  his 
conduct,  as  well  as  in  his  discourses.  But  will  he  who  strives  to 
please  others,  that  he  may  make  his   fortune,  and  who  therefore 

*  Est  enim  eloquentia  una  quaedam  de  surarais  virtutibus — quae  quo  major 
est  vis,  hoc  est  magis  probitate  jungenda,  summaque  prudentia;  quarumvir- 
tutuiK  expertibus  si  dicendi  copiam  tradiderimus,  non  eos  quidem  oratores 
effecerirnus  ;  sed  furentibus  qusedam  arma  dederimus.  De  Oral.  1.  iii.  §  14. 

Set  ergo  nobis  orator  quem  instituimus  is,  qui  a  M.  Cicerone  finitur,  vir 
bonus  dicendi  peritus — Adde  quod  ne  studio  quidem  operis  pulcherrimi  va- 
care  mens,  nisi  omnibus  vitiis  libera,  potest— Quid  putamus  facturas  cupidi- 
tatem,  avaritiam,  invidiam  ?  quarum  impotentissimss  cogitationes,  somnos 
etiam  ipsos,  et  ilia  per  quietem  visa,  perturbent.  Nihil  est  enim  tam  occupa- 
tum,  tam  multiforme,  tot  ac  tam  variis  afFectibus  concisum  atque  laceratum, 
quam  mala  mens.  Quint,  lib.  xii.  cap.  1. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  25 

avoids  disobliging,  anybody;  I  say,  will  such  an  artful,  selfish  per- 
son, inculcate  unacceptable  truths  with  boldness  and  authority  ? 
Or,  if  he  should,  will  any  one  believe  a  man  who  does  not  seem 
to  believe  himself? 

B.  But  supposing  him  to  be  in  narrow  circumstances,  he  does 
no  harm,  I  hope,  by  endeavouring  to  improve  them. 

A.  If  he  be  pinched,  let  him  try  to  mend  his  condition  some 
other  way.  There  are  other  professions  that  will  easily  set  him 
above  want.  But  if  he  be  in  such  extreme  distress  as  to  depend 
on  relief  from  the  public,  he  is  not  yet  fit  to  be  an  orator.  Would 
you  choose  men  that  are  indigent,  and  almost  starving,  to  be  judges 
in  your  commonwealth  ?  Would  you  not  be  afraid  that  their  wants 
might  expose  them  to  corruption,  or  betray  them  into  some  dishon- 
ourable compliance?  Would  you  not  rather  choose  persons  of  note 
and  distinction,  who  are  above  necessity,  and  out  of  the  reach  of 
its  temptations  ? 

B.  I  believe  I  should. 

A.  For  the  same  reason,  if  you  wanted  orators,  that  is,  public 
masters  to  instruct,  reclaim,  and  form  the  minds  and  manners  of 
the  people,  would  you  not  choose  such  men  as  wanted  nothing,  and 
are  far  above  little  selfish  aims  ?  And  if  there  were  others  who  had 
proper  talents  for  this  superior  office,  but  were  clogged  with  their 
personal  concerns,  and  narrow  views  of  private  interests  ;  would 
you  not  excuse  them  from  showing  their  eloquence  till  they  were 
more  easy  and  disengaged  in  their  circumstances ;  and  could 
speak  in  public  without  being  suspected  of  any  mean  design  ? 

B.  It  would  be  better.  But  does  not  the  experience  of  our 
own  age  plainly  show,  that  an  orator  may  make  his  fortune  by 
preaching  rigid  virtue  with  great  vehemence  }  Where  can  we  find 
keener  satires  against  the  prevailing  corruptions  of  the  age,  and 
severer  moral  characters  than  those  which  come  from  the  pulpit  ? 
Yet  people  are  not  disturbed  at  them  :  nay,  they  are  pleased  with 
them  :  and  the  ingenious  preacher  gets  preferment  by  them. 

A.  It  is  very  true  :  but  moral  instructions  have  no  weight  nor 
influence,  when  they  are  neither  supported  by  clear  principles,  nor 
good  examples.  Whom  do  you  see  converted  by  them  ?  People 
are  accustomed  to  hear  such  harangues,  and  are  amused  by  them, 
as  with  so  many  fine  scenes  passing  before  their  eyes.  They 
hearken  to  such  lectures  just  as  they  would  read  a  satire,  and  they 
look  on  the  speaker  as  one  that  acts  his  part  well.     They  believe 


26  FENELON'S   DIALOGUES 

his*  life,  more  than  his  talk :  and  when  they  know  him  to  be  self- 
ish, ambitious,  vain,  given  up  to  sloth  and  luxury  ;  and  see  that  he 
parts  with  none  of  those  enjoyments  which  he  exhorts  others  to 
forsake ;  though,  for  the  sake  of  custom  and  ceremony,  they  hear 
him  declaim,  they  believe  and  act  as  he  does.  But  what  is 
worst  of  all,  people  are  too  apt  to  conclude,  that  men  of  this  pro- 
fession do  not  believe  what  they  teach — this  disparages  their  func- 
tion; and  when  others  preach  with  a  sincere  zeal,  people  will 
scarcely  believe  this  zeal  to  be  sincere. 

B,  I  cannot  but  own  that  your  notions  hang  well  together  ;  and 
that  they  are  very  convincing  when  one  considers  them  attentively. 
But  tell  me  freely,  does  not  all  you  have  said  on  this  subject  flow 
from  a  pure  zeal  for  christian  piety  1 

A.  No  :  if  an  unbeliever  reason  justly,  he  must  fall  into  the 
same  train  of  thoughts ;  but  indeed  one  must  have   a  Christian 

*  The  clergy  have  one  great  advantage  beyond  all  the  rest  of  the  world  in 
this  respect,  besides  ail  others,  that  whereas  the  particular  callings  of  other 
men  prove  to  them  great  distractions,  and  lay  many  temptations  in  their  way, 
to  divert  them  from  minding  their  high  and  holy  calling,  of  being  Christians  ; 
it  is  quite  otherwise  with  the  clergy  :  the  more  they  follow  their  proper  call- 
ings, they  do  the  more  certainly  advance  their  general  one  ;  the  better  priests 
they  are,  they  become  also  the  better  Christians.  Every  part  of  their  call- 
ing, when  well  performed,  raises  good  thoughts,  and  brings  good  ideas  into 
their  minds;  and  tends  both  to  increase  their  knowledge,  and  quicken  their 
sense  of  divine  matters.  A  priest  then  is  more  accountable  to  God,  and  the 
world  for  his  deportment,  and  will  be  more  severely  accounted  with,  than 
any  other  person  whatsoever.  He  is  more  watched  over  and  observed  than 
all  others.  Very  good  men  will  be,  even  to  a  censure,  jealous  of  him  :  very 
bad  men  will  wait  for  his  halting,  and  insult  upon  it:  and  all  sorts  of  per- 
sons will  be  willing  to  defend  themselves  against  the  authority  of  his  doc- 
trine and  admonitions,  by  this — he  says,  but  does  not — the  world  will  reverse 
this  quite,  and  consider  rather  how  a  clerk  lives,  than  what  he  says.  They 
see  the  one,  and  from  it  conclude  what  he  himself  thinks  of  the  other  :  and 
will  think  themselves  not  a  little  justified,  if  they  can  say  that  they  did  no 
worse  than  they  saw  their  minister  do  before  them.  Therefore  a  priest  must 
not  only  abstain  from  gross  scandals ;  but  keep  at  the  farthest  distance  from 
them, — such  diversions  as  his  health  or  the  temper  of  his  mind  may  render 
proper  for  him,  ought  to  be  manly,  decent,  and  grave  ;  and  such  as  may 
neither  possess  his  mind  or  time  too  much,  nor  give  a  bad  character  of  him 
to  his  people.  He  must  also  avoid  too  much  familiarity  with  bad  people  ; 
and  the  squandering  away  his  time  in  too  much  vain  and  idle  discourse.  His 
cheerfulness  ought  to  be  frank  ;  but  neither  excessive  nor  Hcentious.  His 
friends,  and  his  garden,  ought  to  be  his  chief  diversions  ;  as  his  study,  and 
his  parish  ought  to  be  his  chief  employments. 

Bp.  BurneVs  Disc,  of  the  Pastoral  Care,  ch.  viii. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  27 

spirit  to  act  up  to  them  ;  for  it  is  grace  alone  that  can  suppress  the 
disorderly  emotions  of  selflove.  When  I  pressed  you  with  the 
authority  of  Socrates  and  Plato,  you  would  not  resign  your  judg- 
ment to  theirs  ;  and  now,  since  reason  itself  begins  to  convince 
you,  and  that  I  need  not  enforce  the  truth  from  authorities,  what 
if  I  should  tell  you,  after  all,  that  1  have  only  used  their  arguments 
on  this  subject. 

B.     Is  it  possible  1     I  should  be  very  glad  of  it. 

A.  Well  then :  Plato  introduces  Socrates  discoursing  with 
Gorgias,  a  famous  rhetorician,  and  Callicles^  one  of  his  disciples. 
This  Gorgias  was  Isocrates'  master ;  and  (as  Tully  tells  us,)  he 
was  the  first  man  that  boasted  of  his  being  able  to  talk  eloquently 
on  every  thing,  in  which  ridiculous  vanity  he  was  afterwards  imitat- 
ed by  other  Greek  declaimers.  These  two  men,  Gorgias  and 
Callicles,  harangued  plausibly  enough  on  every  subject ;  being 
wits  that  shone  in  conversation,  and  had  no  other  business  but  to 
talk  finely.  However,  they  wanted  what*  Socrates  wished  every 
man  to  have,  solid  principles  of  morality,  and  a  sedate,  just  way  of 
reasoning.  Plato  therefore  having  shewn  what  a  ridiculous  turn  of 
mind  these  men  had,  he  represents  Socrates  as  diverting  himself 
with  their  folly,  and  facetiously  puzzling  the  two  orators  so  much, 
that  they  could  not  tell  him  what  eloquence  is.  Then  he  proves 
that  rhetoric,  (which  was  the  profession  of  these  declaimers)  is 
not  truly  an  art  :,for,  according  to  him,  '  an  art  is  a  regular  disci- 
pline, which  teaches  men  to  do  something  that  will  help  to  make 
them  wiser,  or  better  than  they  are.'  So  that  he  allows  of  no  other 
arts  but  the  liberal  ones  :  and  he  shows  that  even  these  are  per- 
verted, when  they  are  applied  to  any  other  end  besides  training  up 
men  to  virtue.  He  proves  that  this  was  not  the  aim  of  the  rheto- 
ricians :  that  even  Themistocles  arid  Pericles  had  quite  other  views : 
and  that  therefore  they  were  not  truly  orators.  He  says,  those 
famous  men  only  persuaded  the  Athenians  to  make  harbours,  and 

* — Invent!  sunt  qui,  cum  ipsi  doctrina,  et  ingeniis  abundarent,  a  re  autem 
civili  et  negotiis,  animi  quodarn  judicio  abhorerent,  banc  dicendi  exercitati- 
onem  exagitarent,  atque  contemnerent.  Quorum  princeps  Socrates  fuit,  is 
qui  omnium  eruditorum  testimonio,  totiusque  judicio  Gracioe,  cum  prudentia, 
et  acumine,  et  venustate,  et  subtilitate,  tum  vero  eloquentia,  varietate,  copia, 
quamcumque  in  partem  dedisset,  omnium  fuit  facile  princeps — cujus  ingeni- 
um  variosque  sermones  immortalitati  scriptis  suis  Plato  tradidit. 

Cicero  de  Or  at.  lib.  1.  §  16. 


»»  FENELON'S  DIALOGUES 

build  walls,  and  obtain  victories ;  they  only  made  their  citizens 
wealthy,  warlike,  and  powerful ;  and  were  afterwards  ill-treated  for 
it;  which  was  really  no  more  than  they  might  have  expected.  If 
they  had  rendered  the  people  good  and  virtuous  by  their  rhetoric, 
they  would  have  been  sure  of  a  just  recompense  :  for,  he  who  makes 
men  upright,  and  good,  cannot  lose  the  reward  of  his  labour  ;  see- 
ing virtue  and  ingratitude  are  inconsistent.  I  need  not  tell  you  all 
the  arguments  he  uses  to  show  how  useless  such  false  rhetoric  is  ; 
for,  all  that  I  have  said  hitherto  on  this  point,  in  my  own  name,  is 
really  taken  from  him.  It  will  be  more  proper  to  represent  to  you 
what  he  says  of  the  evils  that  these  vain  haranguers  occasion  in 
the  republic. 

B.  It  is  evident  that  such  rhetoricians  were  dangerous  in  the 
Grecian  commonwealths,  where  they  could  mislead  the  people  ;  and 
usurp  the  government. 

A.  That  is  the  chief  danger  that  Socrates  apprehended  from 
them.  But  the  principles  he  lays  down,  on  this  occasion,  reach  a 
great  deal  further.  In  fine,  though  you  and  I  speak  now  of  or- 
dering a  commonwealth,  our  inquiry  and  conclusions  are  not 
applicable  to  democracy  alone  ;  but  to  every  kind  of  government, 
whether  it  be  strictly  a  republic,  an  aristocracy,  or  a  monarchy. 
So  that  the  particular  form  of  government  does  not  enter  into  the 
present  question.  For  in  all  countries,  the  rules  of  Socrates  are 
equally  useful. 

C.  I  wish  you  would  explain  them  to  us. 

A.  He  says  that  seeing  a  man  is  composed  of  a  mind  and  a  body, 
he  ought  to  improve  them  both.  Now  there  are  two  arts  that  con- 
cern the  mind  ;  and  two  others,  that  relate  to  the  body.  The 
two  that  belong  to  the  mind,  are  moral  philosophy,  and  the 
knowledge  of  the  national  laws.  Under  the  head  of  moral  philoso- 
phy he  comprehends  the  laws  of  nature  and  nations  ;  and  all  those 
dictates  of  philosophy  that  are  proper  to  govern  the  inclinations  and 
manners  of  the  whole  republic,  as  well  as  of  every  individual  mem- 
ber of  it.  He  considered  the  second  art,  as  a  remedy  that  is  to  be 
used  to  suppress  falsehood,  injustice,  and  the  like  disorders  among 
the  citizens  :  for,  by  it  lawsuits  are  determined,  and  crimes  are 
punished.  So  that  moral  philosophy  serves  to  prevent  ^evil,  and  the 
knowledge  of  the  laws  and  constitution,  to  punish  it.  There  are 
likewise  two  arts  for  managing  the  body  ;  the  gymnastic  art,  which 
by  due  exercise  and  temperance,  renders  it  healthy,  active,  vigorous, 
and  graceful ;  (for,  you  know.  Sir,  the  ancients  made  a  wonderful 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  29 

use  of  this  art ;  which  we  have  now  quite  lost ;)  and  the  knowledge 
of  physic  which  cures  the  body  when  its  health  is  lost,  or  im- 
paired. The  gymnastic  art  assists  the  body,  as  moral  philosophy 
doth  the  soul ;  namely,  to  form  and  improve  it :  and  skill  in  medi- 
cine is  helpful  to  the  body — as  the  knowledge  of  the  laws  is  to  the 
mind — for  correcting  and  curing  disorders.  But  this  wise  institu- 
tion was  altered,  says  Socrates  :  instead  of  a  solid,  practical  philos- 
ophy, we  have  only  the  vain  subtilty  of  wrangling  sophists :  a  set 
tof  spurious  philosophers  who  abuse  reason:  and,  having  no  sense 
|of  public  good,  aim  only  at  promoting  their  own  selfish  ends.  In- 
stead of  attaining  a  thorough  insight  into  the  national  laws,  people 
are  amused  and  misled  by  vain-glorious  ostentation  of  these  rheto- 
ricians, who  endeavour  only  to  please  and  dazzle  the  mind  :  and 
instead  of  recommending  the  knowledge  of  the  public  constitution, 
and  the  administration  of  justice,  (which  being  the  medicine  of  the 
soul,  should  be  applied  to  cure  its  disorderly  passions,)  these  false 
orators  think  of  nothing  but  how  to  spread  their  own  reputation. 
And  with  regard  to  the  body,  says  Socrates,  the  gymnastic  art  be- 
gins to  be  exchanged  for  skill  in  dress ;  which  gives  the  body  but 
false,  deceitful  ornaments.  Whereas  we  ought  to  desire  only  such  a 
natural  comeliness  as  results  from  health  of  body,  and  due  proportion 
of  its  members,  which  must  be  acquired  and  preserved  by  temperance 
and  exercise.  The  proper  and  seasonable  use  of  medicine  is  like- 
wise laid  aside  to  make  room  for  delicious  dishes,  and  such  palata- 
ble things  as  raise  and  ensnare  the  appetite.  And  instead  of  car- 
rying off  gross  humours  from  the  body  by  proper  evacuations,  to  re- 
store its  health,  nature  is  clogged  and  overcharged,  and  a  false  ap- 
petite is  excited  by  all  the  various  ways  of  luxury  and  intemperance- 
He  farther  observes,  that  those  orators,  who  in  order  to  cure  men, 
should  have  given  them  bitter  physic,  and,  with  authority,  have  in- 
culcated the  most  disagreeable  truths,  have  on  the  contrary  done  for 
the  mind  what  cooks  do  for  the  body  :  their  rhetoric  is  only  an 
art  of  dressing  up  delicacies  to  gratify  the  corrupted  taste  of  the 
people.  All  their  concern  is  to  please  and  sooth  them,  by  raising 
their  curiosity  and  admiration.  For,  these  decl^imers  harangue 
only  for  themselves.  He  concludes  his  remarks  with  asking,  where 
are  those  citizens  whom  the  rhetoricians  have  cured  of  their  vicious 
habits]  Whom  have  they  made  sober  and  virtuous  ?  Thus  Soc- 
rates describes  the  general  disorders,  and  corruption  of  manners 


30  FENELON'S  DIALOGUES 

that  prevailed  in  his  time.  But  does  he  not  talk  like*  one  of  the 
present  age,  who  observes  what  passes  among  us ;  and  speaks  of 
the  abuses  that  reign  in  our  own  days  f  Now  you  have  heard  the 
sentiments  of  this  wise  heathen  :  what  do  you  say  of  that  eloquence 
which  tends  only  to  please,  and  give  pretty  descriptions ;  when  (as 
he  says)  we  ought  to  cauterize  and  cut  to  the  quick  :  and  earnestly 
endeavour  to  cure  people's  minds  by  the  bitterness  of  remedies,  and 
the  severity  of  an  abstemious  diet  ?  I  appeal  to  your  own  judgment 
in  this  case  :  if  you  were  sick,  would  you  be  pleased  with  a  physi- 
cian, who  in  the  extremity  of  your  illness  should  waste  his  time, 
and  amuse  you  with  explaining  to  you  some  fine  hypothesis  in  an 
elegant  style  ;  instead  of  making  pertinent  inquiries  into  the  cause 
and  symptoms  of  your  distempers,  and  prescribing  suitable  reme- 
dies ?  Or,  in  a  trial  at  law,  where  your  estate  or  your  life  was  at 
stake,  what  would  you  think  of  your  lawyer,  if  he  should  play  the 
wit  in  your  defence,  and  fill  his  pleading  with  flowers  of  rhetoric 
and  quaint  turns,  instead  of  arguing  with  gravity,  strength  of  reason, 
and  earnestness,  to  gain  your  cause  ?  Our  natural  love  of  life  and 
well  being,  shows  us  plainly  the  absurdity  of  false  oratory,  and  of 
the  unseasonable  ostentation  of  it,  in  such  cases  as  I  have  now 
mentioned :  but  we  are  so  strangely  unconcerned  about  religion, 
and  the  moral  conduct  of  life,  that  we  do  not  observe  the  same  rid- 
icule in  careless,  vain-glorious  orators ;  who  yet  ought  to  be  the 
spiritual  physicians  and  censors  of  the  people.  Indeed  the  senti- 
ments of  Socrates  on  this  subject  ought  to  make  us  ashamed. 

J5.  I  perceive  clearly  enough  that,  according  to  your  reasoning, 
orators  ought  to  be  the  defenders  of  the  laws,  and  instructers  of 
the  people  to  teach  them  true  wisdom  and  virtue.  But  among  the 
Romans  the  rhetoric  of  the  bar  was  otherwise  employed. 

A.  That  was  certainly  the  end  of  it.  For,  when  orators  had 
not  occasion  to  represent  in  their  discourses,  the  general  wants  of 

*  The  ornaments  of  speaking  are  much  degenerated  from  their  original 
usefulness.  They  were  at  first,  no  doubt,  an  admirable  instrument  in  the 
hands  of  wise  men,  when  they  were  only  employed  to  describe  goodness, 
honesty,  obedience,  in  larger,  fairer,  and  more  moving  images  ;  to  represent 
truth  clothed  with  bodies ;  and  to  bring  knowledge  back  again  to  our  very 
senses,  whence  it  was  at  first  derived  to  our  understanding.  But  now  they 
are  generally  changed  to  worse  uses  :  they  make  the  fancy  disgust  the  best 
things,  if  they  come  sound  and  unadorned  :  they  are  in  open  defiance  against 
reason,  professing  not  to  hold  much  correspondence  with  that ;  but  with  its 
slaves,  the  passions  ;  they  give  the  mind  a  motion  too  changeable  and  be- 
witching, to  consist  with  right  practice. 

Bishop  Sprat's  Hist,  of  R.  S.  p.  IH,  112. 


CONCERNIiNG  ELOQUENCE.  31 

the  republic,  they  were  obliged  to  protect  innocence,  and  the  rights 
of  particular  persons.  And  it  was  on  this  account  that  their  profession 
was  so  much  honoured  ;  and  that  Tully  gives  us  such  a*  lofty  char- 
acter of  a  true  orator. 

B.  Let  us  hear  then  how  orators  ought  to  speak.  I  long  to 
know  your  thoughts  on  this  point ;  seeing  you  deny  the  finical,  florid 
manner  of  Isocrates,  which  is  so  much  admired  and  imitated  by 
others. 

A.  Instead  of  giving  you  my  opinion,  I  shall  go  on  to  lay  be- 
fore you  the  rules  that  the  ancients  give  us  ;  but  I  shall  only  touch 
upon  the  chief  points  ;  for,  I  suppose,  you  do  not  expect  that  I 
should  enter  into  an  endless  detail  of  the  precepts  of  rhetoric. 
There  are  but  too  many  useless  ones ;  which  you  must  have  read  in 
those  books  where  they  are  copiously  explained.  It  will  be  enough 
if  we  consider  the  most  important  rules.  Plato  in  his  Phaedrus 
shows  us,  that  the  greatest  fault  of  rhetoricians  is  their  studying  the 
art  of  persuasion,  before  they  have  learned,  (from  the  principles  of 
true  philosophy,)  what  those  things  are  of  which  they  ought  to  per- 
suade men.  He  would  have  orators  begin  with  the  study  of  man- 
kind in  general,  and  then  apply  themselves  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  particular  genius  and  manners  of  those  whom  they  may  have 
occasion  to  instruct  and  persuade.  So  that  they  ought  first  of  all 
to  know  the  nature  of  man,  his  chief  end,  and  his  true  interest; 
the  parts  of  which  he  is  composed,  his  mind,  and  his  body ;  and 
the  true  way  to  make  him  happy.  They  ought  likewise  to  under- 
stand his  passions,  the  disorders  they  are  subject  to,  and  the  art  oi 
governing  them ;  how  they  may  be  usefully  raised,  and  employed 
on  what  is  truly  good  ;  and,  in  fine,  the  proper  rules  to  make  him 
live  in  peace,  and  become  entirely  sociable.     After  this  general 

*  Neque  vero  raihi  quidquam  proestabilius  videtur,  quam  posse  dicendotenere 
hominum  ccEtus,  mentes  allicere,  voluntates  compellere  quo  velit;  unde 
aulem  velit,  deducere.  Hsec  una  res  in  ornni  libero  populo,  inaximeque  in 
pacatistranquillisque  civitatibus  praecipue  semper  floruit,  semperque  dominata 
est.  Quid  enim  est  aut  tarn  admirabile,  quam  ex  infinita  multitudine  homi- 
num existere  unum,  qui  id  quod  omnibus  natura  sit  datum,  vel  solus,  vel  cum 
paucis  facere  possit? — aut  tam  potens,  tamque  magnificum,  quampopuli  mo- 
tus,  judicum  religiones,  senatus  gravitatera,  unius  oratione  converti  ? — ac  ne 
plura,  quae  sunt  pane  innumerabilia,  consecter,  comprehendam  brevi :  sic 
enim  statuo,  perfecti  oratoris  modcratione,  et  sapientia,  non  solum  ipsius  dig- 
nitatem, sed  et  privatorum  plurimorum,  et  universse  reipublicas  salutem  max- 
ime  contineri.  Cic.  de  Orat.  lib.  i.  §  8. 

30 


33  FENELON'S   DIALOGUES 

study,  comes  that  which  is  particular.     Orators  ought  to  know  the 
laws  and  customs  of  their  country  ;  and  how  far  they  are  agreeable 
to  the  genius  and  temper  of  the  people ;  what  are  the  manners  of 
the  several  ranks  and  conditions  among  them  ;  their  different  ways 
of  education ;    the  common  prejudices  and  separate  interests  that 
prevail  in  the  present  age  ;  and  the  most  proper  way  to  instruct  and 
reform  the  people.     You  see,  Sir,  this  knowledge  comprehends  all 
the  solid  parts  of  philosophy  and  politics.     So  that  Plato  meant  to 
show  us  that  none  but  a  philosopher  can  be  a  true  orator.    And  it  is  in 
this  sense  we  must  understand  all  he  says  in  his  Gorgias  against 
the  rhetoricians  ;  I  mean,  that  set  of  men  who  made  profession  of 
talking   finely   and    persuading   others,    without   endeavouring  to 
know,  from  solid  philosophy,  what  one  ought  to  teach  them.     In 
short,  according  to  Plato,  the  true  art  of  oratory  consists  in  under- 
standing those  useful  truths  of  which  we  ought  to  convince  people  ; 
and  the    art   of  moving   their   passions,    in  order   to  persuasion. 
Cicero*  says  almost  the  very  same  things.     He  seems,  at  first,  to 
think  that  an  orator  should  know  every  thing  ;  because  that  he 
may  have  occasion  to  speak  on  all  sorts  of  subjects ;  and  (as  Soc- 
rates observed  before  himjt  a  man  can  never  talk  well  on  a  point 
of  which  he  is  not  entirely  master.     But  afterwards,  because  of  the 
pressing  necessities  and  shortness  of  life,  Tully  insists  only  upon 
those  parts  of  knowledge  that  he  thinks  the  most  necessary  for  an 
orator.     He  would  have  him  at  least  well  instructed  in  all  that  part 
of  f  philosophy  which  relates  to  the  conduct  and  affairs  of  social 

*  Ac  mea  quidem  sententia  nemo  poterit  esse  omni  laude  cumulatus  orator, 
nisi  erit  omnium  rerum  magnarum,  atque  artium  scientiam  consecutus,  De 
oral  lib.  1.  §.  6.  Oratorem  plenum  aique  perfectum  esse  eum  dicamj  qui  de 
omnibus  rebus  possit  varie  copioseque  dicere.  Ibid.  §.  13.  verum  enimorato- 
ri  quae  sunt  in  hominum  vita,  quandoquidem  in  ea  versetur  orator,  atque  ea 
est  ei  subjecta  materies,  omnia  qusesita,  audita,  lecta,  disputata,  tractata,  agi- 
tata esse  debent.  Lib.  iii.  §.  14. 

t  Etenina  exerum  cognitione  efflorescat,  et  redundet  oportet  oratio  :  quae, 
nisi  subest  res  ab  oratore  percepta,  et  cognita,  inanem  quandam  habet  elocu- 
tionem,  et  pene  puerilem.  De  Orat.  lib.  i,  §  6. 

X  Positum  sit   igitur  in  primis sine  philosophia  non  posse  effici,  quern 

quserimus  eloquentem — nee  vero  sine  philosophorum  disciplina,  genus,  et 
speciem  cujusque  rei  cernere,  neque  eam  .definiendo  explicare,  nee  tribuere 
in  partes  possuraus  :  nee  judicare  quaevera,  quae  falsa  sint;  neque  cernere 
consequentia,  repugnantia  videre,  ambigua  distingure.  Quid  dicam  de  na- 
tura  rerum  cujus  cognitio  magnam  orationis  suppeditat  copiam  ?  De  vita,  de 
oflSciis,  de  virtute,  de  moribus  ?  *  Orat.  § .  4. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  33 

life.  But  above  all  things  he  would  have  an  orator*  know  the  frame 
of  man,  both  with  regard  to  his  soul  and  body,  and  the  natural  ten- 
dency and  force  of  his  passions  ;  because  the  great  end  of  eloquence 
is  to  move  the  secret  springs  of  them.  He  reckons  thet  knowledge 
of  the  laws  and  constitution,  to  be  the  foundation  of  all  public  dis- 
courses :  but  he  does  not  think  a  thorough  insight  into  all  the  partic- 
ular cases  and  questions  in  law  to  be  necessary ;  because,  upon  occa- 
sion, one  may  have  recourse  to  experienced  lawyers,  whose  peculiar 
profession  it  is  to  understand  and  disentangle  such  intricate  points. 
He  thinks,  with  Plato,  that  an  orator  should  be  a|  master  of  reason- 
ing ;  and  know  how  to  define,  and  argue,  and  unravel  the  most  spe- 
cious sophisms.  He  says  we  destroy  eloquence,  if  we  should  sepa- 
rate it  from  philosophy  ;  for  then,  instead  of  wise  orators,  we  should 
have  only  trifling,  injudicious  declaimers.  He  further  requires  not 
only  an  exact  knowledge  of  all  the  principles  of  ethics  ;  but  like- 
wise that  the  orator  be  fully  acquainted  with^  antiquity.     He  re- 

*  Omnes  animorum  motus,  quos  hominum  generi  rerum  natura  tribuit,  pen- 
itus  pernoscendi. — De  Orat.  lib.  i.  §.  5. — Num  admoveri  possit  oratio  ad  sen- 
Bus  animorum,  atque  motus  vel  inflaramandos,  vel  etiam  extinguendos  (quod 
unum  in  oratore  dominatur,)  sine  dUigcntissima  pcrvestigatione  earum  omni- 
um rationum  quae  de  naturis  humani  generis,  ac  moribus,  a  philosophis  ex- 
plicantur. — De  Orat.  lib.  i.  §.  14.  Quare  hie  locus  de  vita  et  moribus,  totus 
est  oratori  perdiscendus.  Ibid.  § .  15. 

t  Bibliothecas  mehercule  omnium  philosophorura  unus  mihi  videtur  duode- 
cim  tabularum  libellus,  si  quis  legum  fontes,  et  capita  viderit,  et  auctoritatis 
pondere  et  utilitatis  ubertate  superare.  Ac  ci  nos,  id  quod  maxime  debet, 
nostra  patria  delectat. — Cujus  primum  nobis  mens,  inos,  disciplina  nota  esse 
debet :  vel  quia  est  patria,  parens  omnium  nostrum,  vel  quiatanta  sapientia 
fuisse  in  jure  constituendo  putanda  est,  quanta  fuit  in  his  tantis  operibus  im- 
perii comparandis.  De  Orat.  lib.  i.  §.  44. 

X  Nee  vero  dialecticis  modo  sit  instructus,  sed  habeat  omnes  philosophiae 
notos,  et  tractatos  locos.  Nihil  enim  de  religione,  nihil  de  raorte,  nihil  de 
pietate,  nihil  decaritate  patriae  ;  nihil  de  bonis  rebus,  aut  malis  ;  nihil  de 
virtutibus,  aut  vitiis — nihil,  inquam,  sine  ea  scientia,  quani  dixi,  graviter,  am- 
ple, copiose  dici,  et  explicari  potest.  Orat.  §.  33. 

§  Cognoscat  etiam  rerum  gestarum  et  memoriae  veteris  ordinem,  maxime 
scilicet  nostrse  civitatis  ;  sed  et  imperiosoruin  populorum  et  regum  illustri- 
um — nescire  enim  quid  antea,  quam  natus  sis,  acciderit,  id  est  semper  esse 
puerum — commemoratio  autem  antiquitatis,  exemplorumque  prolatio  summa 
cum  delectatione,  et  auctoritatem  orationi  afFert,  et  fidem.  Orat.  §.  34. — 
Apud  Graecos  autem  eloquentissimi  homines  remoti  a  c^usis  forensihus, 
cum  ad  caeteras  res  illustres,  turn  ad  scribendam  historiam  maxime  se  appli- 
caverunt.  Namque  et  Herodotus — et  post  ilium  Thucvdides  omnes  dicendi  ar- 
tlficio  mea  sententia  facile  vicet — denique  etiam  a  philosophia  profectus  prin, 
ceps  Xenophon.  De  Orat.  lib.  ii.  §.  13,  14. 


^t  FENELON'S   DIALOGUES 

commends  the  careful  perusal  of  the  ancient  Greek  writers,  especial- 
ly the  historians ;  both  for  their  style,  and  for  the  historical  facts  they 
relate.  He  particularly  enjoins*  the  study  of  the  poets,  because  of 
the  great  resemblance  there  is  betwixt  the  figures  of  poetry,  and 
those  of  eloquence.  In  fine,  he  often  declares  that  an  orator  ought 
to  furnish  his  mind  with  a  clear,  comprehensive  view  of  things,  be- 
fore he  attempt  to  speak  in  public.  I  fancy  I  could  almost  repeat 
some  of  his  words  on  this  subject,  so  often  have  [  read  them,  and 
so  strong  an  impression  did  they  make  on  my  thoughts.  You  will 
be  suprised  to  see  how  much  knowledge,  and  how  manyf  qualities 
he  requires.  *  An  orator,'  says  he,  '  ought  to  have  acuteness  of 
logicians,  the  knowledge  of  philosophers,  the  style  almost  of  the 
poets  ;  the  elocution  and  gesture  of  the  finest  actors.'  Consider 
now  how  much  application  must  be  necessary  to  attain  all  this. 

C.  I  have  observed  indeed,  on  several  occasions,  that  some  or- 
ators, though  they  have  good  natural  parts,  want  a  fund  of  solid 
knowledge.  Their  heads  seem  unfurnished  :  and  one  cannot  but 
perceive  they  labour  hard  for  matter  to  fill  up  their  discourses.  They 
do  not  seem  to  speak  from  the  abundance  of  their  hearts,  as  if  they 
were  full  of  useful  truths  :  but  they  talk  as  if  they  were  at  a  loss  for 
the  very  next  thing  they  are  to  say. 

A.  Cicero  takes  notice  of  this  kind  of  people ;  who  live  al- 
ways, as  it  were,  from  hand  to  mouth,  without  laying  up  any  stock 
of  provision.  But  the  discourses  of  such  declaimers  appear  always 
thin  and  half-starved,  whatever  pains  they  take  about  them.  Though 
these  men  could  afford  three  months  for  studying  a  public  harangue, 
such  particular  preparations,  however  troublesome,  must  needs  be 
very  imperfect,   and  any  judicious  hearer  will  easily  discern  their 

*  Legend!  etiam  poetog,  ccgnoscenda  historia,  omnium  bonarum  artium 
scriptores. — De  Oral.  lib.  i.  §.  34.  Est  enim  finitimus  oratoripoeta,  numeris 
adstrictior  paulo,  verborum  autem  licentia  liberior ;  multis  vero  ornandi  gen- 
eribus  socius  ac  pene  par;  in  hoc  quidem  certe  prope  idem,  nullis  ut  termi- 
nis  circumscribat  aut  definiat  jus  suum,  quo  minus  ei  liceat  eadem  ilia  facul- 
tate,  et  copia  vagari  qua  velit.  Ibid.  §,  16. 

t  Non  quaeritur  mobilitas  linguae,  non  celeritas  verborum,  non  denique  ea 
quae  nobis  non  possumus  fingere,  facies,  vultus,  sonus.  In  oratore  autem 
acumen  dialecticorum,  sententiae  philosophorum,  verba  prope  poetarum,  me- 
moria  juris  consultorum,  vox  tragaedorum,  geslus  pene  summorum  actorum, 
est  requirendus.  Quamobrem  nihil  in  hominum  genere  rarias  perfect©  ora- 
tore inveniri  potest :  quae  enim  singularum  rerum  artifices,  singula  si  medioc- 
riter  adepti  sunt,  probantur,  ea  nisi  omnia  summa  sunt  in  oratore,  probari  non 
possunt.  Dc  Orat.  Wh.  i.  § .  28. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  35 

defects.  They  ought  to  have  employed  several  years  in  laying  up 
a  plentiful  store  of  solid  notions,  and  then  after  such  a  general  prep- 
aration, their  particular  discourses  would  cost  them  but  little  pains. 
Whereas  if  a  man,  without  this  preparatory  study,  lay  out  all  his 
application  upon  particular  subjects,  he  is  forced  to  put  off  his  hear- 
ers with*  florid  expressions,  gaudy  metaphors,  and  jingling  antithe- 
ses. He  delivers  nothing  but  indeterminate  commonplace  notions  ; 
and  patches  together  shreds  of  learning  and  rhetoric  which  any  one 
may  see  were  not  made  one  for  another.  He  never  goes  to  the 
bottom  of  things,  but  stops  in  superficial  remarks,  and  oft-times  in 
false  ones.  He  is  not  able  to  shew  truths  in  their  proper  light  and 
full  extent ;  because  all  general  truths  are  necessarily  connected 
among  themselves  :  so  that  one  must  understand  almost  all  of 
them,  before  he  can  treat  judiciously  of  any  one. 

C  However,  many  of  our  public  speakers  get  repute  by  those 
slight  attainments  you  so  much  despise. 

A.  It  is  true,  they  are  applauded  by  women  and  the  undiscern- 
ing  multitude,  who  are  easily  dazzled  and  imposed  on  :  but  this  re- 
pute is  very  precarious,  and  could  not  subsist  long  if  it  were  not 
supported  by  a  cabal  of  acquaintance,  and  the  zeal  or  humour  of  a 
party.     They  who  know  the  true  end  andt  rules  of  eloquence,  can- 

*  There  are  two  extremes  to  be  avoided  with  the  utmost  care,  the  frigid 
style,  and  the  boyish.  The  former  renders  a  discourse  dry  and  insipid,  by  a 
languor  and  flatness  of  expression  :  the  latter  renders  it  ungrateful  and  shock- 
ing, by  a  swelling  loftiness,  and  affected  amphfication.  Those  who  use  the 
frigid  style,  employ  pompous  expressions  when  the  subject  requires  plain 
ones  :  and  they  who  effect  the  boyish  style,  make  use  of  low  expressions 
when  the  matter  requires  the  loftiest.  But  our  language  is  become  so  mod- 
est, so  reserved,  and  so  scrupulous,  that  the  frigid  style  includes  all  such  ex- 
pressions as  are  too  strong,  or  too  sparkling  ;  too  bold  and  hardy  metaphors, 
and  frequent  turns  of  wit.  And  the  boyish  style  comprehends  strokes  of  hu- 
mour, and  quaint  conceits  upon  serious  subjects  ;  too  loose  and  heavy  repeti- 
tions in  those  parts  of  a  discourse  that  ought  to  be  close  and  concise  ;  too  vi- 
olent exaggerations,  and  too  laborious  figures. 

Rapin.     Reflections  sur  I'Eloquence. 

f  Expression  is  the  dress  of  thought,  and  still 

Appears  more  decent,  as  more  suitable : 

A  low  conceit,  in  pompous  words  exprest, 

Is  like  a  clown  in  regal  purple  drest. 

For  different  styles  with  different  subjects  sort. 

As  several  garbs  with  country,  town  and  court. 

Some  by  old  words  to  fame  have  made  pretence  ; 

Ancients  in  phrase,  mere  moderns  in  their  sense  ! 

Such  labour'd  nothings,  in  so  strange  a  style, 

Amaze  th'  unlearn'd,  and  make  the  learned  smile.—PoPE. 


38  FENELON'S  DIALOGUES 

not  hear  such  empty,  vain  harangues  without  satiety,  disgust  and 
contempt. 

C.  It  seems  then  you  would  have  a  man  wait  several  years  be- 
fore he  attempt  to  speak  in  public  ;  for  the  flower  of  his  age  must 
be  spent  in  attaining  that  vast  fund  of  knowledge  you  reckon  ne- 
cessary to  an  orator,   and   then    he   must  be  so   far    advanced   in 


years 


that  he  will  have  but  little  time  to  exert  his  talents. 


A.  I  would  have  him  begin  to  exert  them  betimes  :  for  I  know 
very  well  how  great  the  power  of  action  is.  But  under  the  pretence 
of  exercising  his  parts,  I  would  not  have  him  immediately  engage 
himself  in  any  kind  of  employment  that  will  take  off  his  mind  from 
his  studies.  A  youth  may  try  his  skill,  from  time  to  time  :  but  for 
several  years,  a  careful  perusal  of  the  best  authors  ought  to  be  his 
main  business. 

C.  Your  judicious  observation  puts  me  in  mind  of  a  preacher  I 
am  acquainted  with,  who  lives,  as  you  say,  from  hand  to  mouth  ; 
and  never  thinks  of  any  subject  till  he  be  obliged  to  treat  of  it  ; 
and  then  he  shuts  himself  up  in  his  closet,  turns  over  his  concor- 
dance, combefix,  and  polyanthea,  his  collections  of  sermons,  and 
common-place  book  of  separate  sentences  and  quotations  that  he 
has  gathered  together. 

A.  You  cannot  but  perceive.  Sir,  that  this  method  will  never 
make  him  an  able,  judicious  preacher.  In  such  cases,  a  man  can- 
not talk  with  strength  and  clearness  ;  he  is  not  sure  of  any  thing 
he  says,  nor  doth  any  thing  flow  easily  from  him.  His  whole  dis- 
course has  a  borrowed  air,  and  looks  like  an  awkward  piece  of 
patchwork.  Certainly  those  are  much  to  be  blamed,  who  are  so 
impatiently  fond  of  showing  their  parts. 

B.  Before  you  leave  us,  Sir,  pray  tell  us  what  you  reckon  the 
chief  effect  of  eloquence. 

A.  Plato  says  an  oration  is  so  far  eloquent  as  it  effects  the  hear- 
er's mind.  By  this  rule  you  may  judge  certainly  of  any  discourse 
you  hear  ;  if  an  harangue  leave  you  cold  and  languid,  and  only 
amuses  your  mind,  instead  of  enlightening  it,  if  it  does  not  move 
your  heart  and  passions,  however  florid  and  pompous  it  may  be,  it 
is  not  truly  eloquent.  Tully  approves  of  Plato's  sentiments  on  this 
point ;  and  tells  us*  that  the  whole  drift  and  force  of  a  discourse 
should  tend  to  move  those  secret  springs  of  action  that  nature  has 
placed  in  the  hearts  of  men.     Would  you  then  consult   your  own 

*Lib.  i.  §.5.  lib.ii.  §.82. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  37 

mind  to  know  whether  those  you  hear  be  truly  eloquent  ?  If  they 
make  a  lively  impression  upon  you,  and  gain  your  attention  and  as- 
sent to  what  they  say  ;  if  they  move  and  animate  your  passions,  so 
as  to*  raise  you  above  yourself,  you  may  be  assured  they  are  true 
orators.  But  if  instead  of  affecting  you  thus,  they  only  please  or 
divert  you,  and  make  you  admire  the  brightness  of  their  thoughts, 
or  the  beauty  and  propriety  of  their  language,  you  may  freely  pro- 
nounce them  to  be  mere  declaimers. 

B.  Stay  a  little,  Sir,  if  you  please,  till  1  ask  you  a  few  more 
questions. 

A.  I  wish  I  could  stay  longer,  gentlemen,  for  your  conversation 
is  very  engaging  :  but  I  have  an  affair  to  despatch  which  will  not 
admit  of  a  delay.  To-morrow  I  will  wait  on  you  again  ;  and  then 
we  shall  finish  this  subject  at  our  leisure. 

JB.     Adieu,  then,  Sir,  till  to-morrow. 


THE  SECOND  DIALOGUE. 

B.  You  are  extremely  kind.  Sir,  in  coming  so  punctually. 
Your  conversation  yesterday  was  so  agreeably  instructive,  that 
we  longed  impatiently  to  hear  you  again  upon  the  same  subject. 

C.  For  my  part,  I  made  what  haste  I  could,  lest  1  should  have 
come  too  late  ;  for  I  was  unwilling  to  lose  any  part  of  your  dis- 
course. 

A.  Such  conferences  are  very  useful,  among  those  who  really 
love  truth,  and  talk  with  temper  ;  for  then  they  exchange  their  best 
thoughts,  and  express  them  as  clearly  as  they  can.  As  for  myself, 
gentlemen,  I  find  an  advantage  in  conversing  with  you  ;  seeing  you 
are  not  displeased  at  the  freedom  1  take. 

B.  Let  us  leave  ofi'  compliments,  Sir,  1  know  best  how  to  judge 
of  myself;  and  1  perceive  clearly  that  without  your  assistance  I 
should  have  continued  in  several  errors.  I  entreat  you.  Sir,  to 
go  on,  and  set  me  entirely  right  in  my  notions  of  eloquence. 

A.  Your  mistakes,  (if  you  will  allow  me  to  call  them  so,)  pre- 
vail among  most  people  of  worth  and  learning  who  have  not  exam- 
ined this  matter  to  the  bottom. 

*  See  Longinus.  § .  vii. 


3S  FENELON'S  DIALOGUES^OO 

B.  Let  us  lose  no  time  in  preamble  :  we  shall  have  a  thousand 
things  to  say.  Proceed  therefore,  Sir,  to  rectify  my  mistakes,  and 
begin  at  the  point  where  we  left  off  yesterday. 

A.  Of  what  point  were  we  talking,  when  we  parted  ?  I  have 
really  forgot. 

C.  You  were  speaking  of  that  kind  of  eloquence  which  consists 
entirely  in  moving  the  passions. 

B.  Yes  :  but  I  could  not  well  comprehend  that  the  whole 
design  of  rhetoric  is  to  move  the  passions.  Is  that  your  opinion, 
Sir? 

A.     By  no  means. 

C.  It  seems  then  I  mistook  you  yesterday. 

A.  What  would  you  say  of  a  man  who  should  persuade  without 
any  proof,  and  affect  his  hearers,  without  enlightening  them  ?  You 
could  not  reckon  him  a  true  orator.  He  might  seduce  people  by 
this  art  of  persuading  them  to  what  he  would,  without  showing 
them  that  what  he  recommends  is  right.  Such  a  person  must 
prove  very  dangerous  in  the  commonwealth  :  as  we  have  seen  be- 
fore from  the  reasoning  of  Socrates. 

B.  It  is  very  true. 

A.  But  on  the  other  hand,  what  would  you  think  of  a  man,  who 
in  his  public  discourses  should  demonstrate  the  truth,  in  a  plain, 
dry,  exact,  methodical  manner ;  or  make  use  of  the  geometrical 
way  of  reasoning,  without  adding  any  thing  to  adorn  or  enliven  his 
discourse  ?  Would  you  reckon  him  an  orator  ? 

B.  No  :  I  should  think  him  a  philosopher  only. 

A.  To  make  a  complete  orator  then,  we  must  find  a  philosopher 
who  knows  both  how  to  demonstrate  any  truth  ;  and  at  the  ?ame 
time,  to  give  his  accurate  reasoning  all  the  natural  beauty  and  ve- 
hemence of  an  agreeable,  moving  discourse,  to  render  it  entirely 
eloquent.  And  herein  lies  the  difference  betwixt  the  clear,  con- 
vincing method  of  philosophy ;  and  the  affecting,  persuasive  art  of 
eloquence. 

C     What  do  you  say  is  the  difference  1 

A.  I  say  a  philosopher's  aim  is  merely  to  demonstrate  the  truth, 
and  gain  your  assent ;  while  the  orator  not  only  convinces  your 
judgment,  but  commands  your  passions. 

C.  I  do  not  take  your  meaning  exactly  yet.  When  a  hearer  is 
fully  convinced,  what  is  there  more  to  be  done  1 

A.  There  is  still  wanting  what  an  orator  would  do  more  than 
a  metaphysician,  in  proving  the  existence  of  a  God.     The  metaphy- 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  M 

sician  would  give  you  a  plain  demonstration  of  it ;  and  stop  at  the 
epeculative  view  of  that  important  truth.  But  the  orator  would  fur- 
ther add  whatever  is  proper  to  excite  the  most  affecting  sentiments 
in  your  mind  :  and  make  you  love  that  glorious  Being  whose  exist- 
ence he  had  proved.  And  this  is  what  we  call  persuasion. 
C.     Now  I  understand  you  perfectly  well. 

j9.     You  see  then  what  reason  Cicero  had  to  say,  that  we  must 
never  separate   philosophy  from  eloquence.      For,  the  art  of  per- 
suading without  wisdom,  and  previous  instruction,  must  be  perni- 
cious:  and  wisdom  alone,  without  the  art  of  persuasion,  can  never 
have  a  sufficient  influence  on   the  minds  of  men,  nor   allure  them 
to  the  love  and  practice  of  virtue.     I  thought  it  proper  to  observe 
this  by  the  by,  to  show  you  how  much  those  of  the  last  age   were 
mistaken  in  their  notions  of  this  matter.     For,  on  the  one  hand 
there  were  some  men  of  polite  learning,  who  valued  nothing   but 
the  purity  of  languages,  and  books  elegantly  written  :  but  having  no 
solid  principles  of  knowledge,  with  their  politeness  and   erudition, 
they  were  generally  libertines.     On  the  other  hand,  they  were  a  set 
of  dry,  formal  scholars,  who  delivered  their  instructions  in  such  a 
perplexed,  dogmatical,  unaffecting  manner,  as  disgusted  every  body. 
Excuse  this  digression.     I  return  now  to  the  point;  and  must  re* 
mind  you  that  persuasion  has  this  advantage  beyond  mere  convic" 
tion   or   demonstration  ;  that    it    not  only  sets  truth    in   the    ful- 
lest   light,    but    represents    it   as   amiable ;     and    engages    men 
to  love  and  pursue  it.*     The  whole  art   of  eloquence,    therefore, 
consists    in    enforcing   the    clearest    proofs    of    any    truth,   with 
Buch  powerful  motives  as  may  affect  the  hearers,  and  employ  their 
passions  to  just  and  worthy  ends,  to  raise  their   indignation  at  in- 
gratitude, their  horror  against  cruelty,    their  compassion  for  the 
miserable,  their  love  of  virtue  ;  and  to  direct  every  other  passion  to 
its  proper  objects.     This  is  what  Plato  calls  affecting  the  minds  of 
an  audience,  and  moving  their  bowels.  Do  you  understand  me,  Sir  ? 
B.     Very  plainly  :  and  I  see  too  that  eloquence  is  not  a  trifling 
invention  to  amuse  and  dazzle  people  with  pompous  language  ;  but 
that  it  is  a  very  serious  art,  and  serviceable  to  morality.  ' 

* — Omnes  animorum  motus,  quos  hominum  generi  rerum  natura  tribuit, 
penitus  pernoscendi ;  quod  omnis  vis  ratioque  dicendi  in  eorum  qui  audiunl, 
mentibus  aut  sedandis,  aut  excitandis,  exprimenda  est.  Cic.  De  Orat.  lib.  i. 
§.5.  Maximaque  pars  orationis  admovenda  est  ad  animorum  motus  non- 
nunquam  aut  cohortatione,  aut  commemoratione,  aliqua,  aut  in  spem,  aut  in 
metum,  aut  ad  cupiditatem,  aut  ad  gloriam  concitandos  :  saspe  etiam  a  teme- 
ritate,  iracundia,  spe,  injuria,  credulitate  revocandos.        Ibid.  Ub.  ii.  §.  8^, 

31 


^  FENELON'S  DIALOGUES 

A.  It  is  both  a  serious  and  a  difficult  art.  For  which  reason 
Tully  said  he  had  heard  several  persons  declaim  in  an  elegant,  en- 
gaging manner  ;  but  that  there  were  but  very  few  complete  orators, 
who  knew  how  to  seize  and  captivate  the  heart. 

C.  I  am  not  surprised  at  that ;  for  I  sec  but  very  few  who  aim 
at  it :  nay,  I  freely  own  that  Cicero  himself  who  lays  down  this 
rule,  seems  oftentimes  to  forget  it.  What  do  you  think  of  those 
rhetorical  flowers  with  which  he  embellished  his  harangues  ?  They 
might  amuse  the  fancy,  but  could  not  touch  the  heart. 

A.  We  must  distinguish.  Sir,  betwixt  Tully's  orations.  Those 
he  composed  in  his  youth  (when  he  chiefly  aimed  at  establishing 
his  character,)  have  oft-times  the  gay  defect  you  speak  of  He  was 
then  full  of  ambition,  and  far  more  concerned  for  his  own  fame, 
than  for  the  justice  of  his  cause.  And  this  will  always  be  the 
case  when  people  employ  one  to  plead  for  them,  who  regards  their 
business  no  farther  than  as  it  gives  him  an  opportunity  of  distin- 
guishing himself,  and  of  shining  in  his  profession.  Thus  we  find 
that  among  the  Romans  their  pleading  at  the  bar  was  oft-times 
nothing  else  but  a  pompous  declamation.  After  all,  we  must  own 
that  Tully's*  youthful  and  most  elaborate  orations  show  a  great  deal 
of  his  moving  and  persuasive  art.  Bat  to  form  a  just  notion  of  it, 
we  must  observe  the  harangues  he  made  in  his  more  advanced  age 

*  Nunc  causa  perorata,  res  ipsa  et  periculi  niagnitudo,  C.  Aquilli,  cogere 
videtur,  ut  te,  atque  eos,  qui  tibi  in  consilio  sunt,  obsecret,  obtesteturque  P. 
Quintius  per  senectutera  ac  solitudinem  suam,  nihil  aliud,  nisi  ut  vestrae  na- 
turae, bonitatique  obsequamini :  ut,  cum  Veritas  haec  facial,  plus  hujus  inopia 
possit  ad  misericordian  quam  illius  opes  ad  crudelitalem — si  quae  pudore  or- 
namenta  sibi  peperit,  Naevi,  ea  potest  contra  petulantiain,  te  defendente,  obti- 
nere  :  spes  est  et  hunc  miserum  atque  infelicem  aliquando  tandem  posse  con- 
sistere.  Sin  et  poterit  Naevius  id  quod  libet ;  et  ei  libebit,  quod  non  licet ; 
quid  agendum  est  ?  Qui  Deus  appellandus  est  ?  Cujus  hominis  fides  implo- 
randa  ? — Ab  ipso  [Naevio]  repudiatus^  ab  amicis  ejus  non  sublevatus  ;  ab 
omni  manistratu  agitatus  atque  perterritus,  quem  praeter  te  appellet,  [C. 
Aquilli]  habet  neminem  ;  tibi  see,  tibi  suas  omnes  opes  fortunasque  commen- 
dat :  tibi  committit  existimationem  ac  spem  reliquae  vitae.  Multis  vexatus 
conturaeliis,  plurimis  jactatus  injuriis  non  turpis  ad  te,  sed  miser  confugit ;  e 
fundo  ornatissimo  dejectus,  ignominiis  omnibus  appetitus — itaque  te  hoc  ob- 
secrat,  C.  Aquilli,  ut  quam  existimationem,  quam  honestatem  injudicium 
tuum,  piope  acta  jam  aetate  decursaque  attulit,  earn  liceat  ei  secum  ex  hoc 
locoefferre  ;  ne  is,  de  cujus  officio  nemo  unquam  dubitavit,  sexagesimo  de- 
nique  anno,  dedecore,  macula,  turpissimaque  ignominia  notetur  ;  ne  orna- 
mentis  ejus  omnibus.  Sex.  Naevius  pro  speliis  abutatur  :  ne  per  te  ferat,  quo 
minus,  quce  existimatio  P.  Quintium  usque  ad  senectutem  perduxit,  eadem 
usque  ad  rogum  prosequatur.  Cic.  Orat.  pro.  P.  Quintio. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  41 

for  the  necessities  of  the  republic.  For  then,  the  experience  he 
had  in  the  weightiest  affairs,  the  love  of  liberty,  and  the  fear  of 
those  calamities  that  hung  over  his  head,  made  him  display  the  ut- 
most efforts  of  his  eloquence.  When  he  endeavoured  to  support 
and  revive  expiring  liberty,  and  to  animate  the  commonwealth 
against  Antony  his  enemy,  you  do  not  see  him  use  points  of  wit 
and  quaint  antitheses  ;  he  is  then  truly  eloquent.  Every  thing 
seems  artless,  as  it  ought  to  be  when  one  is  vehement.  With  a 
negligent  air  he  delivers  the  most  natural  and  affecting  sentiments, 
and  says  every  toing  that  can  move  and  animate  the  passions. 

C.  You  have  often  spoke  of  witty  conceits  and  quaint  turns. 
Pray,  what  do  you  mean  by  these  expressions  ?  For  I  can  scarce 
distinguish  those  witty  turns  from  the  other  ornaments  of  discourse. 
In  my  opinion,  all  the  embellishments  of  speech  flow  from  wit,  and 
a  vigorous  fancy. 

A.  But  Tully  thinks,  there  are  many  expressions  that  owe  all 
their  beauty  and  ornament  to  their  force  and  propriety  ;  and  to  the 
nature  of  the  subject  they  are  applied  to. 

C.  I  do  not  exactly  understand  these  terms  :  be  pleased  to  show 
me  in  a  familiar  way,  how  I  may  readily  distinguish  betwixt  a  flash 
of  wit,  or  (quaint  turn,)  and  a  solid  ornament,  or*  noble,  delicate 
thought. 

A.  Reading  and  observation  will  teach  you  best ;  there  are  a 
hundred  different  sorts  of  witty  conceits. 

C.  But  pray,  Sir,  tell  me  at  least  some  general  mark  by  which 
I  may  know  them  :  is  it  affectation  ? 

A.  Not  every  kind  of  affectation  :  but  a  fond  desire  to  please, 
and  show  one's  wit. 

C.  This  gives  me  some  little  light ;  but  I  want  still  some  dis- 
tinguishing marks,  to  direct  my  judgment. 

A.  I  will  give  you  one  then,  which  perhaps  will  satisfy  you. 
We  have  seen  that  eloquence  consists  not  only  in  giving  clear,  con- 
vincing proofs ;  but  likewise  in  the  art  of  moving  the  passions.    Now 

*True  wit  is  nature  to  advantage  dress'd, 

What  oft  was  thought,  but  ne'er  so  well  express'd  ; 

Something,  whose  truth  convinc'dat  sight  we  find, 

That  gives  us  back  the  image  of  our  mind. 

As  shades  more  sweetly  recommend  the  light : 

So  modest  -plainness  sets  oiF  sjjrightly  wit. 

For  works  may  have  more  wit  than  does  them  good, 

As  bodies  perish  through  excess  of  blood. 

Essay  on  Criticism. 


^ 


FENELON'S   DIALOGUES 


in  order  to  move  them,  we  must  be  able  to  paint  tliem  well,  with  theif 
various  objects  and  effects.  So  that  I  think  the  whole  art  of  oratory 
may  be  reduced  to  proving,  painting,  and  raising  the  passions.  Now 
all  those  pretty,  sparkling,  quaint  thoughts,  that  do  not  tend  to  one 
of  these  ends,  are  only  witty  conceits. 

C.  What  do  you  mean  by  painting?  I  never  heard  that  term 
applied  to  rhetoric. 

A.  To*  paint,  is  not  only  to  describe  things,  but  to  represent 
the  circumstances  of  them,  in  such  at  lively,  sensible  manner,  that 
the  hearer  shall  fancy  he  almost  sees  them  with  his  eyes.  For  in- 
stance, if  a  dry  historian  were  to  give  an  account  of  Dido's  death, 
he  would  only  say,  she  was  overwhelmed  with  sorrow  after  the  de- 
parture of  .^neas  ;  and  that  she  grew  weary  of  her  life,  so  went  up 
to  the  top  of  her  palace,  and  lying  down  on  her  funeral  pile,  she 
stabbed  herself  Now  these  words  would  inform  you  of  the  fact : 
but  you  do  not  see  it.  When  you  read  the  story  in  Virgil,  he  sets 
it  before  your  eyes.  When  he  represents  all  the  circumstances  of 
Dido's  despair,  describes  her  wild  rage,  and  death  already  staring 
in  her  aspect ;  when  he  makes  her  speak  at  the  sight  of  the  pic- 
ture and  sword  that  JEneas  left,  your  imagination  transports  you  to 
Carthage,  where  you  see  the  Trojan  fleet  leaving  the  shore,  and  the 
queen  quite  inconsolable.  You  enter  into  all  her  passions,  and  in- 
to the  sentiments  of  the  supposed  spectators.  It  is  not  Virgil  you 
then  hear ;  you  are  too  attentive  to  the  last  words  of  unhappy  Dido, 
to  think  of  him.  The  poet  disappears  :  and  we  see  only  what  he 
describes  ;  and  hear  those  only  whom  he  makes  to  speak.  Such  is 
the  force  of  a  natural  imitation,  and  of  painting  in  language.  Hence 
it  comes  that  the  painters  and  the  poets  are  so  nearly  related  ;  the 
one  paints  for  the  eyes,  and  the  other  for  the  ears ;  but  both  of 
them  ought  to  convey  the  liveliest  pictures  to  peoples'  imagination. 
1  have  taken  an  example  from  a  poet  to  give  you  a  livelier  image  of 
what  I  mean  by  painting  in  eloquence,  for  poets  paint  in  a  stronger 
manner  than  orators.     Indeed  the  main  thing  in  which  poetry  dif- 

*  See  Longinus  §.  xv. 
1  Plus  est  evidentia,  vel  ut  alii  dicunt,  repraesentatio,  quam  perspicuitas  : 
et  illud  quidem  patet :  haec  se  quodammodo  ostendit — magna  virtus  est,  res 
de  quibus  loquimur,  clare  atque  ut  cerni  videantur,  enunciare.  Non  enim. 
satis  efficit,  neque  ut  debet  plene  dominatur  oratio,  si  usque  ad  aures  volet, 
atque  ea  sibi  judex  de  quibus  cognoscit,  narrari  credit,  non  exprimi,  et  oculis 
mentis  ostendi — atque  hu jus  summae,  judicio  quidem  meo,  virtutis  facillima 
est  via.     JVaturam  intueamur,  banc  sequamur.  Quintil.  lib.  viii.  c.  3. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  43 

fers  from  eloquence  is,  that  the  poet  paints  with  enthusiasm  and 
gives  bolder  touches  than  the  orator.  But  prose  allows  of  painting 
in  a  moderate  degree  ;  for,  without  lively  descriptions  it  is  impossi^ 
ble  to  warm  the  hearer's  fancy,  or  to  stir  his  passions.  A  plain 
narrative  does  not  move  people  ;  we  must  not  only  inform  them  of 
facts,  but*  strike  their  senses,  by  a  lively,  moving  representation  of 
the  manner  and  circumstances  of  the  facts  we  relate. 

C  I  never  reflected  on  this  before.  But  seeing  what  you  call 
painting  is  essential  to  oratory  ;  does  it  not  follow  that  there  can  be 
no  true  eloquence,  without  a  due  mixture  of  poetry  ? 

A.  You  are  right :  only  we  must  exclude  versification  ;  that  is, 
a  strict  regard  to  the  quantity  of  syllables,  and  the  order  of  words 
in  which  the  poet  is  obliged  to  express  his  thoughts,  according  to 
the  measure  or  verse  he  writes  in.  Versification,  indeed,  if  it  be 
in  rhyme,  is  what  injudicious  people  reckon  to  be  the  whole  of 
poetry.  Some  fancy  themselves  to  be  poets,  because  they  have 
spoken  or  writ  in  measured  words :  but  there  are  many  who  make 
verses  without  poetry^and  others  are  veryt  poetical  without  makinor 
verses.  If  therefore  we  set  versifying  aside,  poetry  in  other  respects 
is  only  a  lively  fiction  that  paints  nature.  And  if  one  has  not  this 
genius  lor  painting,  he  will  never  be  able  to  imprint  things  on  the 
hearer's  mind ;  but  his  discourse  will  be  flat,  languid  and  weari* 
some.  Ever  since  the  fall  of  Adam,  men's  thoughts  have  been  so 
low  and  grovelling,  that  they  are  unattentive  to  moral  truths,  and 
can  scarce   conceive  any  thing  but   what  affects  their  senses.     In 

*  Ttig  5e  pnro^iKiii  ^xvretcrixg  x.eiXXiTov  uei  to  if^Trpxiclev  x.xi  IvuMhg.'—* 
KetXeiTxt  f^tiv  yx^  x.oiva?  cpxvrxcrix  ttuv  Ivvorif^x  Xoyit  yivvyiTtKov  oTraa-ovv 
•jret^iqxf^ivoV  ihiuq  ^'  £7r<  r^rm  xwcpcsTJjxg  riivofAXy  oruv  u  Aey*]j  vTro  6v6ov<rix(ru,5 
xxt  7rec6iig  /SAsjtwv  ^OKjif,  KXi  vtt  o-^iv  riS^g  roiq  xtt^vtiv — T/  «v  jj  onropiKVi 
(pxyrxtrix  ovvxrxi  j  ttoXXcc  (/.h  'larag  x-eti  IaXXx  r«7g  }\.o[oig  Ivxyavix  Kxt  Iu7rx6ii 
vr^cffUff-^i^HV'  KctixKt^MXfAmfAivloi  Tfltij  -TT^xyfAXTix.x'iq  g7r<;^«g«Vg(r<v,  k  reiSei 
roy  xK^oxr^v  f^ovov,  xXXx  kxi  oovXiiTxt.  LdOriginus,  §  xv. 

i  The  adventures  of  Telemachus,  composed  by  our  ingenious  author,  are  in* 
tirely  written  in  that  poetic  prose  he  here  speaks  of.  M.  Bossu,  the  greatest 
modern  critic,  does  not  think  that  work  can  be  called  a  poem  :  but  he  owns 
the  distinction  that  our  author  here  takes  notice  of.  *  There  is  good  reason, 
(says  he,)  to  distinguish  such  artless  composures  (turned  into  verse)  from  true 
poetry,  by  giving  them  the  name  of  versification  ;  and  to  make  of  versification 
and  poetry,  as  it  were,  two  different  arts.  And  indeed,  is  there  a  greater  dif- 
ference betwixt  grammar  and  rhetoric,  than  betwixt  the  art  of  making  verses, 
and  that  of  inventing  a  poem  ?'  Traite  dupoeme  epique.  liv.  i.  ch.  5. 


u 


FENELON'S   DIALOGUES 


this  consists  the  degeneracy  of  human  nature.  People  grow  soon 
weary  of  contemplation  ;  intellectual  ideas  do  not  strike  their  im- 
agination, so  that  we  must  use  sensible  and*  familiar  images  to 
support  their  attention,  and  convey  abstracted  truths  to  their  minds. 
Hence  it  came,  that,  soon  after  the  fall,  the  religion  of  all  the  ancients 
consisted  of  poetry  and  idolatry  ;  which  were  always  joined  together 
in  their  various  schemes  of  superstition.  But  let  us  not  wander  too 
far — you  see  plainly  that  poetry,  I  mean,  the  lively  painting  of 
things,  is,  as  it  were,  the  very  soul  of  eloquence. 

C.     But  if  true  orators  be   poets,  I  should  think  that  poets   are 
orators  too  :  for  poetry  is  very  proper  to  persuade. 

A.  Yes  :  they  have  the  very  same  end.  All  the  difference  be- 
twixt them  consists  in  what  I  have  told  you.  Orators  are  not  pos- 
sessed with  that  enthusiasm  which  fiies  the  poet's  breast,  and  ren- 
ders him  more  lively,  more  sublime,  and  bolder  in  expression.  You 
remember  the  passage  I  quoted  from  Cicero. 
C.     Which  f  is  it  not— 

A.  That  an  orator  ought  to  have  the  style  almost  of  a  poet  ; 
that  almost  points  out  the  difference  between  them. 

C.     I  understand   you.       But  you  do  not  come  to  the  point  you 
proposed  to  explain  to  us. 
A.     Which  ? 

C.  The  rule  for  distinguishing  betwixt  witty  turns  and  solid  or- 
naments. 

A.  You  will  soon  comprehend  that.  For  of  what  use  in  dis- 
course can  any  ornament  be,  that  does  not  tend  either  to  prove,  to 
paint,  or  to  affect  ? 

C.     It  may  serve  to  please. 

A.  We  must  distinguish  here  between  such  ornaments  as  only 
please,  and  those  that  both  please  and  persuade.  That  which  serves 
to  please  in  order  to  persuade,  is  good  and  solid ;  thus  we  are 
pleased  with  strong  and  clear  arguments.  The  just  and  natural 
emotions  of  an  orator  have  much  grace  and  beauty  in  them;  and 
his  exact  and  lively  painting  charms  us.  So  that  all  the  necessary 
parts  of  eloquence  are  apt  to  please,  but  yet  pleasing  is  not  their 
true  aim.  The  question  is,  whether  we  shall  approve  such  thoughts 
and  expressions  as  may  perhaps  give  an  amusing  delight ;  but  in 
other  respects,  are  altogether  useless  :  and  these  I  call  quaint  turns, 
and  points  of  wit.     You  must  remember  now  that  I  allow  all  those 

*  Respicere  exemplar  vitae  morumque  jubebo 
Doctum  imitatorem,  et  veras  hinc  diicere  voces. 

Hor.  de  A.  P. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  45 

graces  of  style,  and  delicate  thoughts  that  tend  to  persuasion  ;  I 
only  reject  those  vain,  affected  ornaments  that  the  self-conceited 
author  uses,  to  paint  his  own  character,  and  amuse  others  with  his 
wit,  instead  of  filling  their  minds  entirely  with  his  subject.  In  fine, 
I  think  we  ought  to  condemn  not  only  all  jingle  and  playing  with 
words,  as  a  thing  extremely  mean  and  boyish  ;  but  even  all  witty 
conceits,  and  fanciful  turns  ;  I  mean,  such  thoughts  as  only  flash 
and  glitter  upon  the  fancy,  but  contain  nothing  that  is  solid,  and 
conducive  to  persuasion. 

C.  I  could  agree  to  that,  but  that  I  am  afraid  such  severity 
would  retrench  the  chief  beauties  of  discourse. 

A.  Do  not  you  reckon  Homer  and  Virgil  very  agreeable  au- 
thors ?  Are  they  not  the  most  delicate  you  ever  read  1  And  yet  in 
them  you  do  not  find  what  we  call  points  of  wit.  Their  poems  are 
full  of  noble  simplicity;  their  art  is  entirely  concealed  ;*  nature  it- 
self appears  in  all  that  they  say.  We  do  not  find  a  single  word 
that  seems  purposely  designed  to  show  the  poet's  wit.  They  thought 
it  their  greatest  glory  never  to  appear,  but  to  employ  our  attention 
on  the  objects  they  describe  ;  as  a  painter  endeavours  to  set  before 
your  eyes  wide  forests,  mountains,  rivers,  distant  views,  and  build- 
ings ;  or  the  adventures,  actions,  and  different  passions  of  men,  in 
such  a  lively  manner,  that  you  cannot  trace  the  masterly  strokes  of 
his  pencil ;  for  art  looks  mean  and  coarse  when  it  is  perceived. 
Plato  (who  had  examined  this  matter  more  thoroughly  than  any 
other  orator,  or  critic,)  assures  us  that  in  composing,  the  poet 
should  always  keep  out  of  sight,  make  himself  be  quite  forgot  by 
his  readers,  and  represent  only  those  things  and  persons  which  he 
would  set  before  their  eyes.  You  see  how  much  the  ancients  ex- 
celled us  in  just  and  lofty  sentiments. 

JB.  I  see  the  use  and  necessity  of  painting,  in  eloquence  ;  let 
us  next  know  the  nature  and  use  of  those  affecting  movements  you 
spoke  of. 

A.  They  serve  to  raise  in  the  hearer's  mind,  such  emotions  as 
answer  the  orator's  purpose. 

*  When  first  young  Maro  sung  of  kings  and  wars, 
*Ere  warning  Phcebus  touch'd  his  trembling  ears. 
Perhaps  he  seem'd  above  the  critic's  law, 
And  but  from  nature's  fountains  scorn'd  to  draw  : 
But  when  t'  examine  every  part  he  came, 
J^ature  and  Homer,  were,  he  found,  the  same- 
Learn  hence  for  ancient  rules  a  just  esteem  ; 
To  copy  nature  is  to  copy  them.  Pope. 


^  FENELON'S  DIALOGUES 

C     But  in  what  do  these  movements  of  an  orator  consist  1 
A.     In  his  words,  and  in  the  actions  of  his  body. 
JB.     What  movement  can  there  be  in  words  1 

A.  A  great  deal.  Tully  tells  us,  that  the  very  enemies  of 
Gracchus  could  not  forbear  weeping  when*  he  pronounced  these 
words — '  Miserable  man  that  I  am  !  Whither  shall  I  turn  myself? 
Where  can  I  go?  to  the  Capitol?  It  swims  with  my  brother's 
blood.  Shall  I  go  to  my  own  house?  There  see  my  unhappy  mother 
dissolved  in  tears,  and  oppressed  with  sorrow  ?'  This  is  moving 
language.  But  now  if  one  were  to  say  the  same  things  in  a  cold 
manner,  they  would  lose  all  their  force. 

B.  Think  you  so  ? 

A.  Let  us  try.  *  I  know  not  where  to  go,  nor  whither  I  should 
turn  myself,  amidst  my  misfortunes.  The  Capitol  is  the  place  where 
my  brother's  blood  was  shed  ;  and  at  home,  I  shall  see  my  unhappy 
mother  lamenting  her  condition,  with  the  utmost  grief  This  is 
the  same  thing  that  was  said  before  :  but  what  has  become  of  that 
force  and  vivacity  we  then  perceived  ?  Where  is  thatt  vehement 
manner,  and  abrupt  language  which  so  justly  describes  nature  in 
the  transports  of  grief?  The  manner  of  saying  a  thing  shows  us 
how  it  affects  the  mind  :  and  that  is  what  most  effectually 
touches  the  hearer.  In  such  passages,  one  ought  studiously  to 
avoid  all  refined,  uncommon  thoughts  ;  and  even  neglect  connexion 
and  order  :  otherwise  the  passion  described  has  no  appearance  of 
truth,  or  nature,  in  it.  Nothing  is  more  shocking  than  a  passion 
expressed  in  beautiful  figures,  pompous  language,  and  well  turned 
periods.  On  this  head  I  must  recommendf  Longinus  to  you, 
who  quotes  many  sublime  examples  from  Demosthenes  and  others. 

C.  Besides  the  movements  that  attend  an  affecting,  vehement 
style,  you  mentioned  others  that  flow  from  the  orator's  gesture  and 
action  :  which  I  must  entreat  you  to  explain. 

A,  1  cannot  pretend  to  give  you  a  complete  system  of  rhetoric. 
It  is  a  task  I  am    not  fit  for.       However,   I  shall  give  you  some  re- 

*  Quid  fuitin  Graccho,  quem  tii,  Catule,  melius  meministi,  quod  me  puero 
tantopere  ferretur  ?  quo  me  miser  conferam  ?  quo  vertam?  in  Capitoliumne  ? 
atfratris  sanguine  redundat.  An  domum  ?  matremne  ut  miseram  lamen- 
tantemque  videam,  et  abjectam  7  quae  sic  ab  illo  acta  esse  constabat  occulis, 
voce,  gestu,  initnici  ut  lachrymas  tenere  non  possent.  Hoec  eo  dico  pluribus, 
quod  genus  hoc  totum  oratores,  qui  sunt  veritatis  ipsiis  actores  reliquerunt;  im- 
itatores  autem  veritatis,  histriones,  occupaverunt.  Cic,  de  Oral.  lib.  iii.  § .  56. 
t  See  Longinus,  §.  xviii.  t  See  Longinus,  §.  xviii,  xix,  xx,  xxi. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  47 

marks  I  have  made  on  the  point  of  gesture,  we  find  in  Tully  and* 
duintilian  that  the  action  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans  was  far  more 
violent  than  ours.  They  stamped  on  the  ground,  and  even  beat 
their  forehead.  Tully  mentions  an  orator,  who  in  his  pleading  laid 
hold  of  his  client,  and  tore  open  his  clothes,  to  show  the  judges  the 
wounds  he  had  received  in  the  service  of  the  republic.  This  was 
a  vehement  kind  of  action  indeed ;  but  such  as  is  reserved  for  ex- 
traordinary occasions,  and  doth  not  fall  within  the  common  rules 
of  gesture.  1  think  it  is  not  natural  to  be  always  moving  one's  arm 
in  talking  ;  thatt  motion  is  proper  enough  when  the  orator  is  v^ery 
vehement :  but  he  ought  not  to  move  his  arm  in  order  to  appear  ve- 
hement. Nay  there  are  many  things  that  ought  to  be  pronounced 
calmly,  and  without  any  motion. 

J5.  Would  you  have  a  preacher,  for  instance,  use  no  gesture  at 
all  on  some  occasions  1  that  would  look  very  strange  indeed. 

A.  I  know  that  most  people  lay  it  down  for  a  rule,  (or  a  custom 
at  least,)  that  a  preacher  should  be  always  in  motion,  whatever  the 
subject  be  that  he  treats  of  But  it  might  be  easily  shown  that  our 
[French]  preachers  usually  have  too  much  gesture,  and  sometimes 
too  little. 

B.  I  wish  you  would  state  this  manner  clearly.  For  I  always 
believed,  from  the  example  of  ***  that  there  are  not  above  two  or 
three  motions  of  the  hands  to  be  used  in  a  whole  sermon. 

A.  Let  us  then  lay  down  some  principle  to  argue  upon.  Now  of 
what  use  is  the|  action  of  the  body  in  speaking  1  Is  it  not  to  ex- 
press the  sentiments  and  passions  of  the  mind  1 

B.  I  think  so. 

*  Femur  ferire,  quod  Athenis  primus  fecisse  creditur  Cleon,  et  usitatum  est, 
et  indignatos  decet,  et  excitat  auditorem.  Idque  in  Callidio  Cicero  desiderat. 
JVon  frons,  inquit,  i)ercussa  7  non  femur  ?  pedu7n  nulla  supplosio  ?     Quint. 

t  Brachii  moderata  projectio  remissis  humeris,  atque  explicantibus  se  in  pro- 
ferenda  manu  digitis/continuos  et  decunentes  locos  maxime  decet.         Tbid. 

\  Actio  inquam  in  dicendo  una  dominatur  :  sine  hac  summus  orator  esse  in 
numero  nullo  potest :  mediocris,  hac  instructus  summos  saepo  superare.  Huic 
primas  dedisse  Demosthenes  dicitur,  quum  rogaretur  quid  in  dicendo  esset  pii- 
mum ;  huic  secundas;  huic  tertias.  De  Orat.  lib.  iii.  §  56.  Est  enhn  actio 
quasi  scrmo  corporis  ;  quo  magis  menti  congrua  esse  debet — atque  in  iis  omni- 
bus quae  sunt  aclionis,  inest  quaedam  vis  a  natura  data  ;  quare  etiam  hac  impe- 
riti,  hac  vulgus,  hac  denique  barbari  maxime  commoventur — iisdem  enim 
omnium  animi  motibus  concintantur,  et  eos  iisdem  notis,  et  in  aliis  agnos- 
cunt,  et  in  se  ipsi  indicant.  Ibid.  §  54. 

32 


«i  FENELON'S  DIALOGUES 

A.  The  motion  of  the  body  then  should  help  to  paint  the  thoughts 
of  the  soul. 

B.  Yes. 

A.  And  that  painting  ought  to  be  exact  and*  faithful.  Every 
look  and  motion  should,  in  an  easy,  natural  manner,  represent  the 
speaker's  sentiments,  and  the  nature  of  the  things  he  saysj  but  so 
as  to  avoid  all  mean  and  theatrical  gestures. 

B.  I  think  I  understand  your  notion  exactly.  Let  me  interrupt 
you  then  a  little,  that  you  may  see  how  far  I  enter  into  the  conse- 
quences that  flow  from  the  principle  you  laid  down.  Youf  would 
have  an  orator  use  such  a  lively,  natural,  becoming  action,  as  will 
help  to  point  out  distinctly  what  his  words  alone  could  express  only 
in  a  flat  and  languid  manner.  So  that  you  reckon  his  very  action  a 
sort  of  painting. 

A.  Right,  But  we  must  farther  conclude  that  to  paint  well, 
we  must  imitate  nature  ;  and  observe  what  she  does  when  she  is 
left  to  herself;  and  is  not  constrained  by  art. 

JB.     That  is  plain. 

A.  Now  doth  a  man  naturally  use  many  gestures  when  he  says 
common  things,  without  vehemence,  or  the  least  mixture  of  any 
sort  of  passion  1 

B.  No. 

A.  On  such  common  subjects,  then,  we  ought  not  to  use  any 
action  in  public  discourses,  or  at  least  but  little;  for  there  we  ought 
always  toj  follow  nature  ;  nay,  there  are  some  occasions  where  an 
orator  might  best  express  his  thoughts  by  silence.  For,  if,  being 
full  of  some  great  sentiment,  he   continued  immoveable  for  a  mo- 

*  Omnis  enim  motus  animi  suiim  quendam  a  natura  habet  viilturn  et  sonum, 
et  gestum  ;  totumque  corpus  hominis,  et  ejus  omnis  vultus  omnesque  vosces,  ut 
nervi  in  fidibus,  ita  sonant,  ut  a  motu  animi  quoque  sint  pulsae.  Cicero. 

t  Gestus  quantum  habeat  in  oratore  momenti,  satis  vel  ex  eo  patet  quod  ple- 
raque  etiam  citra  verba  significat.  Quippe  non  nianus  solum,  sed  nutus  etiam 
declarant  nostram  voluntatem  ;  et  in  mutus  pro  serraone  sunt — contra  si  gestus 
ac  vultus  ab  oratione  dissentiat,  tristia  dicamus  hilares,  affirmemus  aliqtia 
renuentes,  non  auctoritas  modo  verbis,  sed  etiam  fides  desit. 

Quint,  lib.  xi.  c.  3. 

t  Unum  jam  his  adjiciendum  est,  cum  praecipue  in  actione  spectetur  decorum, 
saepe  aliud  alios  decere.  Est  enim  latens  quaedam  in  hoc  ratio,  et  inenarrabilis ; 
et  ut  vere  hoc  dictum  est  caput  esse  artis,  decere  quod  facias — quare  norit  se 
quisque  ;  nee  tantum  ex  communibus  praeceptis,  sed  etiam  ex  natura  sua  capiat 
consilium  formande  actionis.  Quint,  lib.  xi.  c.  3. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  4P 

ment,  this  surprising  pause  would  keep  the  minds  of  the  audience 
in  suspense,  and  express  an  emotion  too  big  for  words  to  utter. 

B.  I  doubt  not  but  such  unexpected  pauses  seasonably  employed, 
would  be  very  significant,  and  powerfully  affect  the  hearers.  But, 
Sir,  you  seem  to  think  that  one  who  speaks  in  public  ought  to  use 
no  other  action  than  what  is  proper  for  ordinary  conversation. 

A.  You  mistake  me.  Sir ;  I  think  the  sight  of  a  great  assembly, 
and  the  importance  of  the  subject  an  orator  treats  of,  ought  to  ani- 
mate him  far  more  than  if  he  were  talking  fannliarly  with  his 
friends.  But  both  in  private  and  in  public,  he  ought  always  to  act 
naturally.  He  should  use  some  action  when  his  words  are  moving  ; 
but  when  his  expressions  are  quite  calm  and  simple,  there  is  no 
occasion  to  move  the  body  :  except  it  be  in  the  gentlest  manner. 
Nothing  appears  more  shocking  and  absurd,  than  to  see  a  man 
very  warm  and  active,  when  he  is  saying  the  driest,  coldest  things. 
Though  he  sweats  himself,  he  chills  the  blood  of  his  audience. 
Sometime  ago,  I  happened  to  fall  asleep  at  a  sermon  ;  ***** 
but  I  soon  waked  and  found  the  preacher  in  a  very  violent  agita- 
tion, so  that  I  fancied,  at  first,  that  he  was  pressing  some  important 
point  of  morality — 

B.  What  was  the  matter  then  ? 

A.  He  was  only  giving  notice  that  on  the  Sunday  following  he 
would  preach  upon  repentance.  I  was  extremely  surprised  to  hear 
such  an  indifferent  thing  uttered  with  so  much  vehemence.  ***** 
The  pronunciation  of  these  declaimersis  exactly  like  their  gesture  ; 
for  as  their  voice  is  a  perpetual  monotony,  so  there  is  an*  unifor- 
mity in  their  gesture  that  is  no  less  nauseous  and  unnatural ;  and 

*  In  the  delivering  of  sermons,  a  great  composure  of  gesture  and  behaviour 
is  necessary  to  give  them  weight  and  authority.  Extremes  are  bad  here,  as  in 
every  thing  else.  Some  affect  a  light  and  flippant  behaviour  ;  and  others  think 
that  wry  faces,  and  a  tone  in  the  voice  will  set  off  the  matter.  Grave  and  com- 
posed looks,  and  a  natural,  but  distinct  pronunciation,  will  always  have  the 
best  effects.  The  great  rule  which  the  masters  of  rhetoric  press  much,  can 
never  be  enough  remembered,  that  to  make  a  man  speak  well,  and  pronounce 
with  a  right  emphasis,  he  ought  thoroughly  to  understand  all  that  he  says,  be 
fully  persuaded  of  it,  and  bring  himself  to  have  those  affections  which  he 
desires  to  infuse  into  others.  He  that  is  persuaded  of  the  truth  of  what  he 
say.s,  and  has  a  concern  about  it  in  his  mind,  will  pronounce  with  a  natural  ve- 
hemence that  is  far  more  lively  than  all  the  strains  that  art  can  lead  him  to.  An 
orator,  (if  we  hearken  to  them)  must  be  an  honest  man,  and  speak  always  on 
the  side  of  truth  ;  and  study  to  feel  all  that  he  says  ;  and  then  he  will  speak  it 
so  as  to  make  others  feel  it  likewise.     Discourse  of  the  Pastoral  Care.  c.  ix. 


50  FENELON'S  DIALOGUES  > 

equally  contrary  to  the  good  effect  that  one  might  expect  from  de- 
cent action. 

B.  You  said  that  sometimes  they  have  not  action  enough. 
A.  We  cannot  wonder  at  that.  For  they  do  not  discern  the 
things  that  require  warmth  and  earnestness.  They  waste  their 
spirits  in  saying  the  plainest  things  ;  and  so  are  forced  to  utter 
those  things  faintly  which  ought  to  be  delivered  with  a  vehement 
action.  I  must  own  indeed  that  the  French  are  not  very  capable 
of  this  vehemence ;  for,  they  are  too  airy,  and  do  not  conceive 
things  with  sufficient  strength  ;  and  therefore  they  do  not  speak 
with  a  proper  energy.  The  Romans  had  a  wonderful  talent  this 
way,  and  the  Greeks  a  greater.  The  eastern  nations  excelled  in 
it;  and  particularly  the  Hebrews.  Nothing  can  equal  the  strength 
and  vivacity  of  the  figures  they  employed  in  their  discourse  ;  and 
the  very  actions  they  used  to  express  their  sentiments;  such  as 
putting  ashes  on  their  heads,  and  tearing  their  garments,  and  cov- 
ering themselves  with  sackcloth,  under  any  deep  distress  and  sor- 
row of  mind.  I  do  not  speak  of  what  the  prophets  did  to  give  a 
more  lively  representation  of  the  things  they  foretold,  because  such 
figurative  actions  were  the  effect  of  divine  inspiration.  But  even 
in  other  cases,  we  find  that  those  people  understood  much  better 
than  we  do,  how  to  express  their  grief,  and  fear,  and  other  passions. 
And  hence,  no  doubt,  arose  those  surprising  effects  of  eloquence, 
which  we  never  experience  now. 

B.  You  approve  then  of  many  different  gestures,  and*  various 
inflections  of  the  voice  ? 

A.  It  is  that  variety  which  gives  so  much  grace  and  force  to 
the  action  of  an  orator  :  and  made  Demosthenes  far  excel  all  others. 
The  more  easy  and  familiar  that  the  voice  and  action  appear,  when 
the  speaker  only  narrates,  explains,  or  instructs,  the  more  apt  he 
will  be  to  surprise  and  move  the  audience  in  those  p.arts  of  his 
discourse,  where  he  grows  suddenly  vehement,  and  enforces  lofty, 
affecting    sentiments    by  a   suitable  energy  of   voice   and  action. 

*  In  omni  voce,  est  quiddam  medium  ;  sed  suum  cuique  ;  hinc  gradatitn 
adscendere  vocem  utile,  et  suave  est ;  (nam  a  principio  clamare  agreste  quid- 
dam  est:)  et  illud  idem  ad  formandum  est  vocem  salutare  ;  deinde  est  quiddam 
contentius  extremum — est  item  contra  quiddam  in  remissione  gravissimumjy 
quoque  tamquam  sonorum  gradibus  descenditur,  Haec  varietas,  et  hie  per 
pmnes  sonos  vocis  cursus,  et  se  tuebitur,  et  actioni  afFeret  suavitatem. 

Cic.  dc  Oral.  lib.  iii.  §  61. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  51 

This  due*  pronunciation  is  a  kind  of  music ;  whose  beauty  con- 
sists in  the  variety  of  proper  tones  and  inflections  of  the  voice, 
which  ought  to  rise  or  fall  with  a  just  and  easy  cadence,  according 
to  the  nature  of  the  things  we  express.  It  gives  a  light  as  well  as 
a  grace  to  language ;  and  is  the  very  life  and  spirit  of  discourse. 

B.  According  to  your  notions  of  elocution,  it  is  an  art  unknown 
to  our  greatest  orators.  The  preacher  that  you  and  I  heard,  about 
fortnight  ago,  did  not  observe  your  rule  ;  nor  even  seem  to  endeav- 
our it.  Except  the  first  thirty  words  of  his  sermon,  he  spake 
always  in  the  same  tone  ;  and  the  only  sign  I  could  perceive  of  his 
being  more  vehement  in  some  parts  of  his  discourse,  than  in  others, 
was,  that  when  he  seemed  earnest,  he  spoke  faster  than  at  other 
times. 

A.  To  me.  Sir,  his  voice  seemed  to  have  two  tones ;  though 
they  were  well  adapted  to  his  words.  You  observed  justly  enough 
that  he  did  not  follow  the  rules  of  pronunciation  ;  and  I  believe  he 
did  not  perceive  the  need  of  them.  His  voice  is  naturally  melodious ; 
and  though  it  be  ill  managed,  it  is  however  pleasing  enough.  But 
you  see  plainly  that  it  does  not  make  those  strong,  affecting  impres- 
sions on  the  mind  that  it  would  produce,  if  it  had  such  various  in- 
flections as  are  proper  to  express  the  speaker's  sentiments.  Such 
preachers  are  like  fine  clocks,  that  give  a  clear,  full,  soft,  agreeable 
sound  ;  but  after  all  they  are  clocks  only,  of  no  significancy ;  and 
having  no  variety  of  notes,  they  are  incapable  of  harmony  or  elo- 
quence. 

B.  But  were  there  not  many  graces  in  the  rapidity  of  his  dis- 
course 1 

*  Ornata  est  pronuntiatio,  cui  sufFragatur  vox  facilis,  magna,  beata,  flexibilis, 
firma,  dulcis,  durabilis,  clara,  pura,  secans  asra,  auribus  sedens.  Est  enim 
quaedam  ad  auditiim  accomtnodota,  non  niagnitudine  sed  proprietate,  ad  hoc 
velut  tractabilis  ;  ulique  habens  omnes  in  se  qui  desiderantur  sonos  intention- 
esquc,et  toto  ut  aiunt  organo  instructa — illud  vero]maximum,  quod  secundum 
rationem  rerum  de  quibus  dlciraus,  aniraorumque  habitus,  conformanda  vox 
est,  ne  ab  oratione  discordet.  Vitemus  igitur  illam  quas  Greece  ftovorcvtec 
vocatur,  una  quaedam  spiritus  ac  soni  intentio  :  non  solum  ne  dicamus  clamose, 
quod  insanum  est ;  aut  intra  loquendi  modum,  quod  motu  caret ;  aut  summisso 
murmure,  quo  etiam  debilitatur  omnis  intentio:  sed  ut  in  iisdem  partibus, 
iisdemque  affectibus,  sint  tamen  quaedam  non  ita  magnae  vocis  declinationcs , 
prout  aut  verborum  dignitas,  aut  sententiarum  natura,  aut  depositio,  aut  inceptio, 
aut  transitus  postulabit ;  ut  qui  singulis  pinxerunt  coloribus,  alia  tamen  emin- 
entiora,  aliareductiora  fecerunt ;  sine  quo  nc  membris  quidem  suas  lineas  de- 
dissent.  Quint,  lib,  xi.  c.  3. 


im  FENELON'S   DIALOGUES 

A.  Yes ;  and  I  grant  that  in  some  affecting,  lively  passages  one 
ought  to  speak  faster  than  usual.  But  it  is  a  great  fault  to  speak 
with  so  much  precipitation  that  one  cannot  stop  himself,  nor  be 
distinctly  understood.  The  voice  and  action  bear  some  resem- 
blance to  verse.  Sometimes  we  must  use  such  a  slow,  and  grave 
measure,  as  is  fit  to  describe  things  of  that  character;  and  some- 
times a  short  impetuous  one,  to  express  what  is  quick  and  ardent. 
To  use  always  the  same  degree  of  action,  and  the  same  tone  of 
voice,  is  like  prescribing  one  remedy  for  all  distempers.  But  we 
ought  to  excuse  the  uniformity  of  that  preacher's  voice  and  action. 
For,  besides  his  possessing  many  excellent  qualities,  the  fault  we 
complain  of,  is  the  natural  effect  of  his  style.  We  have  already 
agreed  that  the  modulation  of  the  voice  should  be  exactly  suited  to 
the  words.  Now  his  style  is  even,  and  uniform,  without  the  least 
variety.  On  the  one  hand,  it  is  not  familiar,  insinuating,  and  pop- 
ular ;  and,  on  the  other,  it  has  nothing  in  it  that  is  lively,  figurative, 
and  sublime  ;  but  it  consists  of  a  constant  flow  of  words,  that  press 
one  after  the  other  ;  containing  a  close  and  well-connected  chain 
of  reasoning,  on  clear  ideas.  In  a  word,  he  is  a  man  that  talks 
good  sense  very  correctly.  Nay,  we  must  acknowledge  that  he  has 
done  great  service  to  the  pulpit;  he  has  rescued  it  from  the  servi- 
tude of  vain  declaimers,  and  filled  it  himself  with  much  strength 
and  dignity.  He  is  very  capable  of  convincing  people  ;  but  1  know 
few  preachers  who  persuade  and  move  them  less  than  he  doth.  If 
you  observe  carefully,  you  will  even  find  that  his  way  of  preaching  is 
not  very  instructive,  for  besides  his  not  having  a  familiar,  engaging, 
pathetic  manner  of  talking,  (as  I  observed  before,)  his  discourse 
does  not  in  the  least*  strike  the  imagination,  but  is  addressed  to 

*  The  senses  and  the  imagination  are  fruitful  and  inexhaustible  sources  of 
mistakes  and  delusion  ;  but  the  understanding  or  mind  acting  by  itself,  is  not  so 
subject  to  error — we  cannot  always  speak  so  as  to  affect  the  senses  and  imag- 
ination of  others;  noi  ought  v/e  always  to  endeavour  it.  When  a  subject  is 
abstracted,  we  can  seldom  render  it  sensible  (or  apt  to  strike  the  imagination,) 
without  making  it  obscure  ;  it  is  enough  if  it  be  made  intelligible.  Nothing 
can  be  more  unjust  than  the  usual  complaints  of  those  who  would  know  every 
thing,  and  yet  will  not  apply  themselves  to  any  thing.  They  take  it  amiss 
when  we  require  their  attention ;  and  expect  that  we  should  always  strike  their 
fancy,  and  continually  please  their  senses,  and  their  passions.  But  it  is  not  in 
our  power  to  gratify  them.  The  authors  of  romances  and  comedies  are  obliged 
thus  to  please  and  amuse  them;  but  as  for  us,  it  is  enough  if  we  can  instruct 
those  who  are  truly  attentive. 

P.  Malbranche^s  recherche  de  la  verite.  liv.  iii.  c.  ]. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  53 

the  understanding  only.  It  is  a  thread  of  reasoning  that  cannot 
be  comprehended  without  the  closest  attention.  And  seeing  there 
are  but  few  hearers  capable  of  such  a  constant  application  of  mind, 
they  retain  little  or  nothing  of  his  discourse.  It  is  like  a  torrent 
that  hurries  along  at  once,  and  leaves  its  channel  dry.  In  order  to 
make  a  lasting  impression  on  people's  minds,  we  must  support  their 
attention,  by  moving  their  passions;  for  dry  instructions  can  have 
but  little  influence.  But  the  thing  that  I  reckon  least  natural  in 
this  preacher,  is  the  continual  motion  he  gives  his  arms,  while  there 
is  nothing  figurative,  nor  moving  in  his  words.  The  action  used 
in  ordinary  conversation,  would  suit  his  style  best;  or  his  impetuous 
gesture  would  require  a  style  full  of  sallies  and  vehemence;  and 
even  then  he  behoved  to  manage  his  warmth  better,  and  render  it 
less  uniform.  In  fine,  I  think  he  is  a  great  man — but  not  an  orator. 
A  country  preacher  who  can  alarm  his  hearers,  and  draw  tears 
from  them,  answers  the  end  of  eloquence  better  than  he. 

jB.  But  how  shall  we  know  the  particular  gestures,  and  the  in- 
flections of  voice  that  are  agreeable  to  nature  ? 

A.  I  told  you  before  that  the  \\4iole  art  of  good  orators  consists 
in  observing  what  nature  does  when  unconstrained.  You  ought 
not  to  imitate  those  haranguers  who  choose  always  to  declaim  ;  but 
will  never  talk  to  their  hearers.  On  the  contrary,  you  should  ad- 
dress yourself  to  an  audience  in  such  a  modest,  respectful,  engag- 
ing manner,  that  each  of  them  shall  think  you  are  speaking  to  him 
in  particular.  And  this  is  the  use  and  advantage  of  natural,  famil- 
iar, insinuating  tones  of  voice.  They  ought  always  to  be  grave 
and  becoming  ;  and  even  strong  and  pathetic,  when  the  subject 
requires  it.  But  you  must  not  fancy  that  you  can  express  the  pas- 
sions by  the  mere  strength  of  voice  ;  like  those  noisy  speakers  who 
by  bawling  and  tossing  themselves  about,  stun  their  hearers,  instead 
of  affecting  them.  If  we  would  succeed  in  painting  and  raising 
the  passions,  we  must  know  exactly  what  movements  they  inspire. 
For  instance,  observe  what  is  the  posture,  aud  what  the  voice  of 
one  whose  heart  is  pierced  with  sorrow,  or  surprised  at  the  sight  of 
an  astonishing  object ;  remark  the  natural  action  of  the  eyes;  what 
the  hands  do ;  and  what  the  whole  body.  On  such  occasions 
nature  appears;  and  you  need  only  follow  it;  if  you  must  employ* 
art,  conceal  it  so  well  under   an   exact  imitation,  that  it  may  pass 

*  Ton  y«g  vi  Ti^vvi  riXeiog,  jjv/x'  civ  (Pvctk;  ehai  ook^'  *t  ^'  uv  <pvtrig 
tTrtlv^n?^  orcAv  Xecy^clvna-ec  7ripnx>^  riiv  ri^vriv-  Longinus,  §  xxii. 


m  FENELON'S  DIALOGUES 

for  nature  itself.  But  to  speak  the  truth,  orators  in  such  cases  are 
like  poets  who  write  elegies  or  other  passionate  verses  ;  they  must* 
feel  the  passion  they  describe,  else  they  can  never  paint  it  well. 
The  greatest  art  imaginable  can  never  speak  liket  true  passion  and 
undisguised  nature.  So  that  you  will  always  be  but  an  imperfect 
orator,  if  you  be  not  thoroughly  moved  with  those  sentiments  that 
you  paint,  and  would  infuse  into  others.  Nor  do  I  say  this  from 
a  pious  motive  :  I  speak  now  only  asj  an  orator. 

B.  The  case,  I  think,  is  abundantly  plain  :  but  you  spoke  to  us 
of  the  eyes:  have  they  their  rhetoric  too? 

A.  Yes;  if  you  will  belie  ve§  Tully,  and  other  ancient  orators. 
Nothing  is  more  intelligible  than  the  aspect :  it  expresses  every  pas- 
sion of  the  soul.  And  in  the  aspect,  the  eyes  are  most  active  and 
significant.  One  well-timed  look  will  pierce  to  the  bottom  of  the 
heart. 

B.  The  preacher  we  were  speaking  of,  has  usually  his  eyes  shut. 
When  we  observe  him  near,  it  is  very  shocking. 

*  Ut  ridentibus  arrident,  ita  flentibus  adsunt 
Humani  vultus.     Si  vis  me  flere,  dolendum  est 
Primum  ipsi  tibi 


-male  si  mandata  loqueris. 


Aut  dormitabo,  aut  ridebo.     Tristia  moestum 

Vultum  verba  decent;  iratura  plena  minarum. 

Format  enim  natura  prius  nos  intus  ad  omnem 

Fortunarum  habitiim  ;  juvat,  aut  impellit  ad  iram, 

Aut  ad  humum  moerore  giavi  deducit,  et  angit ; 

Post  effert  animi  motus  interprete  lingua.     Hor.  de  A.  P. 

t  Qu'^DMv   yap   u^oficrxif^YiV   uv  ag  »o£v  sr&'s  &>?  ro  ysvvxiov  TrciSog   'iv&oe,  ^fih 

oloMCi  ^oiZd^ov  T»?  Aoyyj.  Longinus,  §  viii. 

I  Neque  fieri  potest,  ut  doleat  is  qui  audit,  ut  oderit.  ut  invideat,  ut  perti- 
mescat  aliquid,  nisi  omnes  ii  motus  quos  orator  adhibere  volet  judici,  in  ipso 
oratore  impressi,  atque  inusti  videbuntur — ut  enim  nulla  materies  tarn  facilis 
ad  exardescendum  est,  quae  nisi  admoto  igni  ignem  concipere  possit  :  sic  nulla 
mens  est  tarn  ad  comprehendendam  vim  oratoris  parata,  quae  possit  incendi,  nisi 
inflammatus  ipse  ad  earn  et  ardens  accesseris.  Cic.  de  Oral.  lib.  ii.  §  45. 

§  Sed  in  ore  sunt  omnia.  Inn  eo  autem  ipso  dominatus  est  omnis  oculorum — 
animi  enim  est  omnis  actio  ;  et  imago  animi  vultus  est,  indices  oculi.  Nam  base 
est  una  pars  corporis  quae  quot  animi  motus  sunt,  tot  significationes,  et  commu- 
tationes  possit  efficere — oculi  sunt  quorum  turn  intentione,  turn  remissione,  turn 
conjectu,  tum  hilaritate  motus  animorum  significemus  apte  cum  genere  ipso 
orationis  ;  est  enim  actio  quasi  sermo  corporis  ;  quo  magis  menti  congruens  esse 
debet. — Quare  in  hac  nostra  actione  secundum  vocem  vultus  valet :  is  autem 
oculis  gubernatur.  Cic,  de  Orat.  lib.  iii.  §  59. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  55 

A.  It  is  disagreeable  because  we  perceive  that  he  wants  one  of 
the  chief  things  that  ought  to  enliven  his  discourse. 

B.  But  why  does  he  so  ? 

A.  He  makes  haste  to  pronounce  his  words ;  and  shuts  his  eyes, 
because  it  helps   his  labouring  memory. 

B.  I  observed  indeed  that  it  was  very  much  burdened  :  some- 
times he  repeated  several  words  to  find  out  the  thread  of  his  dis- 
course. Such  repetitions  make  one  look  like  a  careless  school -boy 
that  has  forgot  his  lesson.  They  are  very  disagreeable  ;  and  would 
not  be  easily  excused  in  a  preacher  of  less  note. 

A.  It  is  not  so  much  the  preacher's  fault  as  the  defect  of  the 
method  he  follows,  after  many  others.  So  long  as  men  preach  by 
heart,  and  often,  they  will  be  apt  to  fall  into  this  perplexity. 

B.  How  do  you  mean  ?  Would  you  have  us  not  to  preach  by 
heart?  Without  doing  so,  one  could  not  make  an  exact,  pithy  dis- 
course. 

A.  I  am  not  against  a  preacher's  getting  some  particular  ser- 
mons by  heart.  They  may  always  have  time  enough  to  prepare 
themselves  for  extraordinary  occasions.  And  they  might  even 
acquit  themselves  handsomely  without  such  great  preparation. 

B.  How  1    This  seems  incredible. 

A.  If  I  be  mistaken,  I  shall  readily  own  it.  Let  us  only  ex- 
amine the  point  without  prepossession.  What  is  the  chief  aim  of 
an  orator?  Is  it  not  to  persuade  ?  And  in  order  to  this,  ought  he 
not  to  affect  his  hearers,  by  moving  their  passions? 

B.  I  grant  it. 

A.  The  most  lively  and  moving  way  of  preaching  is  therefore 
the  best. 

B.  True;  what  do  you  conclude  from  that? 

A.  Which  of  two  orators  will  have  the  most  powerful  and 
affecting  manner,  he  who  learns  his  discourse  by  heart,  or  he  who 
speaks  without  reciting  word  for  word  what  he  had  studied  ? 

B.  He,  I  think,  who  has  got  his  discourse  by  heart. 

A.  Have  patience — and  let  us  state  the  question  right.  On  the 
one  hand,  I  suppose  a  man  prepares  his  discourse  exactly,  and  learns 
it  by  heart  to  the  least  syllable.  On  the  other  hand,  I  suppose  anoth- 
er person  who  fills  his  mind  with  the  subject  he  is  to  talk  of;  who 
speaks  with  great  ease  ;  (for,  you  would  not  have  any  body*  attempt 

* Ego  nee  studium  sine  divite  vena, 

Nee  rude  quid  prosit  video  ingenium.     Hor.  de  A.  P. 
33 


fin   ^  FENELON'S  DIALOGUES 

to  speak  in  public,  without  having  proper  talents  for  it :)  in  short,  a 
man  who  has  attentively  considered  all  the  principles  and  parts  of 
the  subject  he  is  to  handle,  and  has  a  comprehensive  view  of  them  in 
all  their  extent ;  who  has  reduced  his  thoughts  into  a  proper  method, 
and  prepared  the  strongest  expressions  to  explain  and  enforce  them 
in  a  sensible  manner  ;  who  ranges  all  his  arguments,  and  has  a 
sufficient  number  of  affecting  figures  :  such  a  man  certainly  knows 
every  thing  that  he  ought  to  say,  and  the  order  in  which  the  whole 
should  be  placed  ;*  to  succeed  therefore  in  his  delivery,  he  wants 
nothing  but  those  common  expressions  that  must  make  the  bulk  of 
his  discourse.  But  do  you  believe  now  that  such  a  person  would 
have  any  difficulty  in  finding  easy,  familiar  expressions  ? 

jB.  He  could  not  find  such  just  and  handsome  ones  as  he 
might  have  hit  on,  if  he  had  sought  them  leisurely  in  his  closet. 

A.  I  own  that.  But  according  to  you,  he  would  lose  only  a  few 
ornaments;  and  you  know  how  to  rate  that  loss  according  to  the 
principles  we  laid  down  before.  On  the  other  side,  what  advantage 
must  he  not  have  in  the  freedom  and  force  of  his  action  ;  which  is 
the  main  thing.  Supposing  that  he  has  applied  himself  much  to 
composing,  (ast  Cicero  requires  of  an  orator,)  that  he  has  read  all 
the  best  models  ;  and  has  a  natural  or  acquired  easiness  of  style 
and  speech  ;  that  he  has  abundance  of  solid  knowledge  and  learn ' 
ing ;  that  he  understands  his  subject  perfectly  well ;  and  has  ranged 

*  He  then  that  would  prepare  himself  to  be  a  preacher  in  this  method,  must 
accustom  himself  to  talk  freely  to  himself,  to  let  his  thoughts  Qow  from  him  ; 
especially  when  he  feels  an  edge  and  heat  upon  his  mind ;  for  then  happy  ex- 
pressions will  come  in  his  mouth — he  must  also  be  writing  essays  upon  all 
sorts  of  subjecis ;  for  by  writing  he  will  biing  himself  to  a  correctness  both  in 
thinking  and  in  speaking  ;  and  thus  by  a  hard  practice  for  two  or  three  years, 
a  man  may  render  himself  such  a  master  in  this  way,  that  he  can  never  be 
surprised  ;  nor  will  new  thoughts  ever  dry  up  upon  him.  He  must  talk  over 
himself  the  whole  &ot?y  of  divinity;  and  accustom  himself  to  explain  and  prove, 
to  clear  objections,  and  to  apply  every  part  of  it  to  some  practical  use — and  if 
in  these  his  meditations,  happy  thoughts,  and  noble,  tender  expressions,  do  at 
any  time  offer  themselves,  he  must  not  lose  them,  but  write  them  down.  By 
a  very  few  years'  practice  of  two  or  three  of  such  soliloquies  a  day,  chiefly  in  the 
morning,  when  the  head  is  clearest,  and  the  spirits  are  liveliest,  a  man  will 
contract  a  great  easiness  both  in  thinking  and  speaking. 

Bishop  JBurnefs  Discourse  on  the  Pastoral  Care,  p.  210,  211. 

t  Caput  autem  est,  quod  (ut  vere  dicam)  minime  facimus,  (est  enim  magui 
laboris,  quern  plerique  fugimus)  quam  plurimum  scribcre — stilus  optimus,  et 
praestantissimus  dicendi  effector,  ac  magister  ;  neque  injuria :  nam  si  subitam  et 
fortuitam  orationem,  commentatio,  et  cogitatio  facile  vincit ;  banc  ipsam  pro- 
fecto  assidua  ac  diligens  scriptura  superabit.  He  Orat.  lib.  i.  §  33. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  &f 

all  the  parts  and  proofs  of  it  in  his  head ;    in  such  a  case  we  must 

conclude  that  he  will  speak  with  force,  and*  order,  and  readiness. 

His  periods  perhaps  will  not  sooth  the  ear  so  much  as  the  others; 

and  for  that  reason  he  must  be  the  better  orator.     His  transitions 

may  not  be  so  fine  ;    it  is  no  great  matter — though  these  he  might 

have  prepared  without  getting  them  by  heart;     besides,  these  little 

omissions  were  common   to  the  most  eloquent  orators  among  the 

ancients.     They   thought  such  negligence   was  very  natural,  and 

ought  even  to  be   imitated,  to  avoid   the   appearance  of  too  great 

preparation.     What  then  could  our  orator  want  ?     He  might  make 

some  little  repetition  ;     but  that  too  must  have  its  use.     Not  only 

will  the  judicious  hearer  take  a  pleasure  in  observing  nature  here, 

which  leads  one  often  to  resume  whatever  view  of  the  subject  strikes 

strongest  upon   the   mind  ;     but  likewise  this  repetition   imprints 

the  truth  more  deeply  ;     which   is   the  best  manner  of  instruction. 

At  the  worst,  one  might  find  in  his  discourse  some  inaccuracy  of 

construction,  some  obsolete  word   that  has  been   censured  by  the 

academy  ;    something  that  is  irregular  ;    or,  if  you  will,  some  weak 

or  misapplied  expression  that  he  may  happen  to  drop  in  the  warmth 

of  action.     But  surely  they  must  have  narrow  souls  who  can  think 

such  little  escapes  worth  any  one's  notice.     There  is  an  abundance 

of  these  to  be  met  with  in  the   mostt   excellent  originals.     The 

greatest  orators  among  the  ancients  neglected  them  ;    and  if  our 

views  were  as  noble  as  theirs,  we  should  not  so  much  regard  thoset 

trifles,  which  can  amuse  none  but  such  as  are  not  able  to  discern 


-cui  lecta  potenter  erit  res, 


Nee  facundia  deferit  hunc,  nee  lucidus  ordo. 
Verbaque  provisam  rem  non  invita  sequentur. 

Hor.  dc  A.  P. 

T  Ilx^ccrtB-iu>tVo:  a    hk  oXlyet.  xxi  ctvroi;  u/^xfriif^ocTcc,  Kcct  O^JjgK,  ku]  r^v 

KX(  aig  erv^iv  vtto  f^iyx?\.o(pvtxg  unTCia-rdrMg  Treifivttny^ivx' 

Loiiginus,  §  xxxiiK 

t  Sunt  delicta  tamen,  quibus  ignavisse  velimus  : 
Nam  neque  chorda  sonum  reddit  quern  vult  manus  ct  mens ; 
Poscentique  gravem  persaepe  remiltit  acutum  : 
Nee  semper  feriet  quodcunque  minabitur  arcus. 
Verum  ubi  plura  nitent  in  carmine,  non  ego  paucis 
Offendar  maculis,  quas  aut  incuria  fudit, 
Aut  humana  parura  cavit  natura Hor.  de  JL.  P» 


5ft*  FENELON'S   DIALOGUES 

and  pursue  what  is  truly  great.  Excuse  my  freedom,  Sir  ;  if  I  did 
not  think  you  had  a  genius  very  different  from  these  little  cavilling 
critics  1  condemn,  I  should  speak  of  them  with  greater  caution. 

B.  You  may  always  speak  your  mind,  Sir,  without  any  reserve 
on  my  account.  Be  pleased  therefore  to  go  on  with  your  com- 
parison. 

A.  Consider  then,  in  the  next  place,  the  advantages  that  a 
preacher  must  have  who  does  not  get  his  sermon  by  heart.  He  is 
entirely  master  of  himself;  he  speaks  in  an  easy,  unaffected  way, 
and  not  like  a  formal  declaimer.  Things  flow  then  from  their 
proper  source.  If  he  has  a  natural  talent  for  eloquence,  his  lan- 
guage must  be  lively  and  moving;  even*  the  warmth  that  animates 
him,  must  lead  him  to  such  pertinent  expressions  and  figures,  as  he 
could  not  have  found  out  by  study. 

H.  Why  ?  Surely  a  man  may  enliven  his  fancy,  and  compose 
very  sprightly  discourses  in  his  closet. 

A.  I  own  that ;  but  a  just  elocution  and  gesture  must  still  give 
them  a  greater  life  and  spirit.  Besides,  what  one  says  in  the  ardour 
of  action  is  far  more  natural  and  affecting;  it  has  a  negligent  air, 
and  discovers  none  of  that  art  which  is  visible  in  all  elaborate  com- 
posures. We  may  add  farther,  that  a  skilful  experienced  oratort 
adapts  things  to  the  capacity  of  his  hearers,  and  varies  his  discourse 

*  But  the  rule  1  have  observed  last,  is  the  most  necessary  of  all ;  and  with- 
out it  all  the  rest  will  never  do  the  business  :  it  is  this, — that  a  man  must  have 
in  himself  a  deep  sense  of  the  truth  and  power  of  religion  ;  he  must  have  a  life 
and  flame  in  his  thoughts  with  relation  lo  these  subjects ;  he  must  have  felt 
himself  those  things  which  he  intends  to  explain  and  recommend  to  others. 
He  must  observe  narrow  1}'  the  motions  of  his  own  mind,  that  so  he  may  have 
a  lively  heat  in  himself  when  he  speaks  of  them  ;  and  that  he  may  speak  in 
80  sensible  a  manner,  that  it  may  be  almost /e/f  th;it  he  speaks  from  his  heart. 
There  is  an  authority  in  the  simplest  things  that  can  be  said,  when  they  carry 
visible  characters  of  genuineness  in  them.  Now  if  a  man  can  carry  on  this 
method,  and  by  much  meditation  and  prayer,  draw  down  divine  influences, 
which  are  always  to  be  expected  when  a  man  puts  hiniself  in  the  way  of  them, 
and  prepares  himself  for  them,  he  will  always  feel  that  while  he  is  musing,  a 
Jire  is  kindled  within  him  ;  and  then  he  will  speak  with  authority,  and  with- 
out constraint ;  his  thoughts  will  be  true,  and  his  expressions  free  and  easy. 
Discourse  of  the  Pastoral  Care,  p.  Ill,  112, 

t  Erit  igitur  haec  facultas  in  eo  quern  volumus  esse  eloquentem,  ut  definire 
rem  possit ;  neque  id  faciat  tarn  presse  et  anguste,  quam  in  illis  eruditissimis 
disputationibus  fieri  solet,  sed  cum  explanatius,  tum  etiam  uberius,  et  ad  com- 
mune judicium,  ^opwZaremgMe  intelligentiam  accomraodatius. 

Cic.  Or  at.  §  33. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  59 

according  to  the  impression  he  sees  it  makes  upon  their  minds. 
For  he  easily  perceives  whether  they  understand  him  or  not ;    and 
whether  he  gains  their  attention,  and  moves  their  hearts;  and  if  it 
be   needful,  he  resumes  the  same  things  in   a  different  manner, 
and    sets    them    in    another   light;    he    clothes    them    in    more 
familiar   images    and    comparisons ;     or    he   goes    back    to    the 
plainest  principles,    from  which  he  gradually    deduces  the  truths 
he    would    enforce ;    or  ha   endeavours  to  cure   those   passions, 
that   hinder  the   truth    from   making    a    due    impression.      This 
is  the  true  art  of  instruction  and  persuasion  ;    and  without  this  ad- 
dress and  presence  of  mind,  we  can  only  make  roving  and  fruitless 
declamations.     Observe  now  how   far  the  orator  who  gets  every 
thing  by  heart,  falls  short  of  the  other's  success.     If  we  suppose 
then  a  man  to  preach  who   depends  entirely   on  his  memory,  and 
dares  not  pronounce  a  word  different  from  his  lesson,  his  style  will 
be  very  exact;  but,  as  Dionysius  Halicarnassius  observes  of  Isocra- 
tes,  his  composition  must  please  more  when  it  is  read,  than  when  it 
is  pronounced.     Besides,  let  him  take   what  pains  he  will,  the  in- 
flexions of  his  voice  will   be  too  uniform,  and  always  a  little  con- 
strained.     He  is  not  like  a  man  that  speaks  to  an  audience  ;    but 
like  a  rhetorician  who  recites  or  declaims.     His  action  must  be 
awkward  and  forced  ;    by  fixing  his  eyes  too  much,  he  shows  how 
much  his  memory  labours  in  his  delivery  ;     and  he  is  afraid  to  give 
way  to  an   unusual  emotion,  lest  he   should  lose  the  thread  of  his 
discourse.     Now  the  hearer  perceiving  such  an  undisguiised  art,  is 
so  far  from  being  touched  and  captivated,  as  he  ought  to  be,  that 
he  observes  the  speaker's  artifice  with  coldness  and  neglect. 
B.     But  did  not  the  ancient  orators  do  what  you  condemn  ? 

A.  I  believe  not. 

B.  What !  do  you  think  that  Demosthenes  and  Tully  did  not 
learn  by  heart  those  finished  orations  they  have  left  us? 

A.  We  know  very  well  that  they  composed  and  wrote  their 
harangues,  before  they  spake  in  public ;  but  we  have  several  reasons 
to  believe  that  they  did  not  get  them  by  heart,  word  for  word.  Even 
the  orations  of  Demosthenes,  as  we  have  them,  show  rather  the 
sublimity  and  vehemence  of  a  great  genius  that  was  accustomed  to 
speak  powerfully  of  public  affairs,  than  the  accuracy  and  politeness 
of  an  author.  As  for  Cicero,  in  several  places  of  his  harangues, 
we  find  things  spoken  on  sudden  emergencies,  that  he  could  not 
possibly  have  foreseen.     And  if  we  take  his  opinion  of  this  mat- 


60  FENELON'S   DIALOGUES 

ter  ;*  he  thinks  an^  orator  ought  to  have  a  great  memory  ;  and 
he  even  speaks  of  an  artificial  kind  of  memory  as  an  useful 
invention  ;  but  all  he  says  on  this  point  does  not  imply  that  we 
ought  to  learn  every  word  by  heart.  On  the  contrary,  he  seems 
only  to  require,  that  we  should  range  all  the  parts  of  a  discourse 
exactly  in  our  memory,  and  prepare  the  figures  and  chief  expres- 
sions we  are  to  use ;  so  as  to  be  ready  to  add  off-hand  whatever 
may  occasionally  be  suggested  from  a  view  of  the  audience,  or 
unexpected  accidents.  And  it  is  for  this  reason,  that  he  requires 
so  much  application  and  presence  of  mind  in  an  orator. 

B.  You  must  allow  me  to  tell  you,  Sir,  that  all  this  does  not 
convince  me;  for  I  cannot  believe  that  one  can  speak  so  very  well, 
without  having  prepared  and  adjusted  all  his  expressions. 

C.  The  reason  why  it  is  so  hard  to  persuade  you  in  this  case, 
is,  because  you  judge  of  the  matter  by  common  experience.  If  they 
who  get  their  sermons  by  heart,  were  to  preach  without  that  prepa- 
ration, it  is  likely  they  would  succeed  but  very  ill,  nor  am  I  sur- 
prised at  it;  for,  they  are  not  accustomed  to  follow  nature;  they 
have  studied  only  to  compose  their  sermons,  and  that  too  with  af- 
fectation.   They  have  never  once  thought  oft  speaking  in  a  noble, 

*  Sed  verborum  memoria,  quae  minus  est  nobis  necessaria,  majore  imaginum 
varietate  distinguitur  ;  multa  eniiii  sunt  verba.  Quae  quasi  aiticuli  corinectunt 
membra  orationis,  quae  formari  similitudine  nulla  possunt ;  eorum  fingendas 
nobis  sunt  imagines,  quibus  semper  ulainur.  Rerum  memoria,  propria  est 
oratoris ;  earn  singulis  personis  bene  positis  notare  possumus,  ut  sententias 
imaginibus,  ordinem  locis  comprchendamus.  De  Oral.  lib.  ii.  §  88. 

t  This  leads  me  to  consider  the  difference  that  is  between  the  reading,  and 
the  speaking  of  sermons.  Reading  is  peculiar  to  this  nation,  and  is  endured 
in  no  other.  It  has  indeed  made  our  sermons  more  exact;  and  so  has  produ- 
ced to  us  many  volumes  of  the  best  that  are  extant.  But  after  all,  though 
some  few  read  so  happily,  pronounce  so  truly,  and  enter  so  entirely  into  those 
affections  which  they  recommend,  that  in  them,  we  see  both  the  correctness 
of  reading,  and  the  seriousness  of  speaking  sermons;  yet  every  one  is  not  so 
happy.  Some  by  hanging  their  head  perpetually  over  their  notes,  by  blun- 
dering as  they  read,  and  by  a  cursory  running  over  them,  do  so  lessen  the  mat- 
ter of  their  sermons,  that  as  Ihey  are  generally  read  with  very  little  life  or 
affection,  so  they  are  heard  with  as  little  regard  or  esteem.  Those  who  read, 
ought  certainly  to  be  at  a  little  more  pains,  than  (for  the  most  part)  they  are, 
to  read  true,  to  pronounce  with  an  emphasis,  to  raise  their  head,  and  to  di- 
rect their  eyes  to  their  bearers  ;  and  if  they  practised  more  alone,  the  just 
way  of  reading,  they  might  deliver  their  sermons  with  much  more  advantage. 
Man  is  a  low  sort  of  creature  :  he  does  not  (nay  the  greater  part  cannot,)  con- 
sider things  in  themselves,  without  those  little  seasonings  that  must  recom- 
mend them  to  their  affections — besides,  the  people  (who  are  too  apt  to  cen- 
sure the  clergy)  are  easily  carried  into  an  obvious  reflection  on  reading  that 
it  is  an  effect  of  laziness.  Discourse  of  the  Pastoral  Care,  ch.  ix. 


FENELON'S  DIALOGUES.  61 

strong,  and  natural  manner.  Indeed  the  greatest  part  of  preachers 
have  not  a  sufficient  fund  of  solid  knowledge  to  depend  on,  and  are 
therefore  afraid  to  trust  themselves  without  the  usual  preparation. 
The  method  of  getting  sermons  by  heart,  qualifies  many,  who 
have  but  very  scanty  and  superficial  parts,  to  make  a  tolerable  fig- 
ure in  the  pulpit,  seeing  they  need  only  lay  together  a  certain  num- 
ber of  passages  and  remarks ;  and  however  little  genius  or  assist- 
ance a  man  has,  he  may  with  time  and  application  be  able  to  work 
up  and  polish  his  matter  into  some  form.  But  to  preach  with  judg- 
ment and  strength  requires  an  attentive  meditation  upon  the  first 
principles  of  religion,  an  exact  knowledge  of  morality,  an  insight 
into  antiquity,  strength  of  reasoning,  and  suitable  action.  Is  not 
this.  Sir,  what  you  require  in  an  orator  who  does  not  learn  his  dis- 
course by  heart  1 

A.  You  have  explained  my  thoughts  exactly.  Only  it  may  not 
be  improper  to  add,  that  though  a  man  should  not  possess  all  these 
qualities  in  a  remarkable  degree,  he  may  yet  preach  very  well,  if 
he  has  a  solid  judgment,  a  tolerable  stock  of  knowledge,  and  an 
easy  way  of  speaking.  For,  in  this  method,  as  the  other,  there  may 
be  different  degrees  of  eloquence.  You  may  further  observe,  that 
most  of  those  who  preach  without  getting  their  sermons  by  heart, 
do  not  prepare  themselves  enough.  They  ought  to  study  their  sub- 
ject with  the  closest  attention  ;  prepare  all  those  moving  passages 
that  should  affect  the  audience  ;  and  give  the  several  parts  of  their 
discourse  such  an  order  as  will  best  serve  to  set  the  whole  in  the 
most  proper  light. 

B.  You  have  oftentimes  spoken  of  this  order  :  do  you  mean 
any  thing  else  by  it  than  a  division  of  the  subject  ?  Perhaps  you 
have  some  peculiar  notion  on  this  point  too. 

A.     You  think  that  you  rally  me  :  but  in  good  earnest,  I  am  as 
singular  in  my  opinion  upon  this  head,  as  on  any  other. 
JB.     T  easily  believe  you. 

A.  It  is  certainly  so  :  and  since  we  have  fallen  upon  this  sub- 
ject, I  will  show  you  how  far  I  think  the  greater  part  of  orators  are 
defective  in  the  point  of  order. 

B.  Since  you  are  so  fond  of  order,  1  hope  you  do  not  dislike 
divisions. 

A.  I  am  far  from  approving  them. 

B.  Why  ?  Do  they  not  methodise  a  discourse  ? 

A.  For  the  most  part,  divisions  give  only  a  seeming  order  ; 
while  they  really  mangle  and  clog  a  discourse,  by  separating  it  into 


68  FENELON'S  DIALOGUES. 

two  or  three  parts,  which  must  interrupt  the  orator's  action,  and 
the  effect  it  ought  to  produce.  There  remains  no  true*  unity  after 
such  divisions  ;  seeing  they  make  two  or  three  different  discourses, 
which  are  joined  into  one,  only  by  an  arbitrary  connection.  For 
three  sermons  preached  at  different  times,  (if  they  be  formed  upon 
some  regular  concerted  plan,  as  the  sermons  in  Advent  usually  are,) 
make  one  piece,  or  entire  discourse,  as  much,  as  the  three  points 
of  any  of  these  sermons  make  one  whole  by  being  joined  and  deliv- 
ered together. 

B.  What  is  it  then  that  you  mean  by  order  ?  How  confused 
must  a  discourse  be  that  is  not  divided. 

jQ.  Do  you  think  there  is  more  confusion  in  the  orations 
of  Demosthenes  and  Tully,  than  in  the  sermons  of  your  parish 
preacher  1 

B.     I  do  not  know — I  believe  not. 

A.  You  need  not  be  afraid  of  giving  your  judgment  too  freely. 
The  harangues  of  these  great  men  are  not  divided  as  our  sermons 
are.  Nay,  Isocrates  (of  whom  we  spake  so  much  before,)  and  other 
ancient  orators,  did  not  follow  our  method  of  dividing.  The  fathers 
of  the  church  knew  nothing  of  it.  Even  S.  Bernard,  the  last  of  them, 
only  gives  a  hint  of  some  divisions,  and  does  not  pursue  them  ;  nor 
divide  his  discourses  in  form.  And  for  a  long  time  after  him,  ser- 
mons were  not  divided  :  it  is  a  modern  invention  which  we  owe 
originally  to  the  scholastic  divines. 

B.  I  grant  that  the  schoolmen  are  a  very  bad  model  for  elo- 
quence :  but  what  form  did  the  ancients  use  to  give  their  dis- 
courses 1 

A.  They  did  not  divide  them  ;  but  they  pointed  out  carefully 
all  those  things  that  ought  to  be  distinguished  ;  to  each  of  themf 
they  assigned  its  proper  place,  after  having  attentively  considered 
where  it  might  be  introduced  to  the  best  advantage,  and  be  fittest 
to  make  a  due  impression.     Ofttimes  that  which  would  seem  noth- 

*  A  text  being  opened,  then  the  point  upon  which  the  sermon  is  to  run  is 
to  be  opened ;  and  it  vv^ill  be  the  better  heard  and  understood,  if  there  be  but 
one  point  in  a  sermon  }  so  that  one  head,  and  only  one,  is  well  stated,  and 
fully  set  out.  Discourse  of  the  Pastoral  Care,  p.  249. 

t  Ordinis  hsec  virtus  erit,  et  venus,  aut  ego  fallor, 

Ut  jam  nunc  dicat,  jam  nunc  debentia  dici 

Pleraque  difFerat,  et  prsesens  in  tempus  omittat — 

Infelix  operis  summa,  quia  ponere  totum 

Nesciet Hor.  de  A.  P. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  63 

ing  to  the  purpose,  by  being  unseasonably  urged,  has  a  very  great 
weight  when  it  is  reserved  for  its  proper  place  ;  till  the  audience 
be  prepared  by  other  things  to  feel  all  its  force  and  consequence. 
Nay,  a  single  word,  when  happily  applied,  will  set  the  truth  in  the 
strongest  light.  Cicero  tells  us  that  we  ought  sometimes  to  delay 
giving  a  full  view  of  the  truth,  till  the  very  conclusion.  But  then, 
throughout  our  discourse,  there  ought  to  run  such  a  concatenation 
of  proofs,  as  that  the  first  may  make  way  for  the  second,  and  the 
next  always  serve  to  support  the  former.  We  ought  at  first  to  give 
a  general  view  of  our  subject,  and  endeavour  to  gain  the  favour  of 
the  audience  by  a*  modest  introduction,  a  respectful  address,  and 
the  genuine  marks  of  candour  and  probity.  Then  we  should  es- 
tablish those  principles  on  which  we  design  to  argue  ;  and  in  a 
clear,  easy,  sensible  manner,  propose  the  principal  facts  we  are  to 
build  on  ;  insisting  chiefly  on  those  circumstances,  of  which  we  in- 
tend to  make  use  afterwards.  From  these  principles  and  facts  we 
must  draw  just  consequences,  and  argue  in  such  a  clear  and  well- 
connected  manner,  that  all  our  proofs  may  support  each  other;  and 
so  be  the  more  remembered.  Every  step  we  advance,  our  dis- 
course ought  to  grow  stronger,  so  that  the  hearers  may  gradually 
perceive  the  force  and  evidence  of  the  truth  ;  and  then  we  ought 
to  display  it  in  such  lively  images  and  movements  as  are  proper  to 
excite  the  passions.  In  order  to  this  we  must  know  their  various 
springs,  and  the  mutual  dependence  they  have  one  upon  another, 
which  of  them  we  can  most  easily  move  and  employ  to  raise  the 
rest;  and  which  of  them,  in  fine,  is  able  to  produce  the  greatest  ef- 
fects, and  must  therefore  be  applied  to,  in  the  conclusion  of  our 
discourse.  It  is  ofttimes  proper,  at  the  close,  to  make  a  short  re- 
capitulation, in  which  the  orator  ought  to  exert  all  his  force  and 
skill  in  giving  the  audience  a  full,  clear,  concise  view  of  the  chief 
topics  he  has  enlarged  on.  In  short,  one  is  not  obliged  always  to 
follow  this  method  without  any  variation.  There  are  exceptions 
and  allowances  to  be  made  for  different  subjects  and  occasions. 
And  even  in  this  order  I  have  proposed,  one  may  find  an  endless 
variety.     But  now  you  may  easily  see  that  this   method  (which  is 

*  Sed  haec  adjuvant  in  oratore,  lenitas  vocis,  vultus,  pudoris  significatio,  ver- 
borum  comitas :  si  quid  persequare  acrius,  ut  invitus,  et  coactus  lacere  videare. 
Facilitatis,  liberalitatis,  mansuetudinis,  pietatis,  grati  animi,  non  appetentis 
non  avidi  signa  proferri  perutile  est — tantum  autem  efficitur  sensu  quodara 
ac  ratione  dicendi,  ut  quasi  mores  oratoris  effingat  oratio.  Cicero  De  Orat. 
34 


64  FENELON'S  DIALOGUES 

chiefly  taken  from  Tully,)  cannot  be  observed  in  a  discourse  that 
is  divided  into  three  parts,  nor  can  it  be  followed  in  cash  particular 
division.  We  ought  therefore  to  choose  some  method,  Sir,  but 
such  a  method  as  is  not  discovered  and  promised  in  the  beginning 
of  our  discourse.  Cicero  tells  us  that  the  best  method  is  generally 
to  conceal  the  order  we  follow,  till  we  lead  the  hearer  to  it  without 
his  being  aware  of  it  before.  I  remember,  he  says,  in  express 
terms,  that  we  ought  to  conceal  even  the  number  of  our  arguments  ; 
so  that  one  shall  not  be  able  to  count  them,  though  they  be  very 
distinct  in  themselves,  and  that  we  ought  not  phainly  to  point  out 
the  division  of  a  discourse.  But  such  is  the  undistinguishing  taste 
of  these  latter  ages,  that  an  audience  cannot  perceive  any  order, 
unless  the  speaker  distinctly  explain  it  in  the  beginning  ;  and  even 
intimate  to  them  his  gradual  advances  from  the  first  to  the  second, 
and  following  general  heads  or  subdivisions  of  his  discourse. 

C  But  do  not  divisions  help  to  support  the  attention,  and  ease 
the  memory  of  the  hearers  1  It  is  for  their  better  instruction  that 
the  speaker  divides  his  discourse. 

A.  A  division  chiefly  relieves  the  speaker's  memory.  And 
even  this  effect  might  be  much  better  obtained  by  his  following  a 
natural  order  without  any  express  division  :  for  the  true  connexion 
of  things  best  directs  the  mind.  Our  common  divisions  are  of  use 
to  those  only  who  have  studied,  and  been  trained  up  to  this  method 
in  the  schools.  And  if  the  common  people  retain  the  division  bet- 
ter than  the  rest  of  the  sermon,  it  is  only  because  they  hear  it  often 
repeated  ;  but,  generally  speaking,  they  best  remember  prac- 
tical points,  and  such  things  as  strike  their  senses  and  imagi- 
nation. 

B.  The  order  you  propose  may  be  proper  enough  for  some  sub- 
jects ;  but  it  cannot  be  fit  for  all :  for  we  have  not  always  facts  to 
lay  down. 

A.  When  we  have  none,  we  must  do  without  them  ;  but  there 
are  very  few  subjects  into  which  they  might  not  be  aptly  introduced. 
One  of  Plato's  chief  beauties  is,  that  in  the  beginning  of  his  moral 
pieces  he  usually  gives  us  some  fragment  of  history,  or  some  tradi- 
tion that  serves  as  the  foundation  of  his  discourse.  This  method 
would  far  more  become  those  who  preach  religion,  which  is  entire- 
ly founded  upon  tradition,  history,  and  the  most  ancient  records. 
Indeed,  most  preachers  argue  but  weakly;  and  do  not  instruct  peo- 
ple sufficiently,  because  they  do  not  trace  back  things  to  these 
sources. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  65 

jB.  We  have  already  given  you  too  much  trouble,  Sir,  and  I  am 
almost  ashamed  to  detain  you  longer  ;  but  I  wish  heartily  you 
would  allow  me  to  ask  you  a  few  more  questions  concerning  the 
rules  of  public  discourse. 

A.  With  all  my  heart :  lam  not  yet  weary.  You  may  dispose, 
as  you  please,  of  the  little  time  I  have  left. 

JB.  Well,  then,  you  would  have  all  false  and  trifling  ornaments 
entirely  banished  from  discourse.  Now,  though  you  touched  upon 
this  point  before,  pray  show  me  by  some  sensible  examples  how 
to*  distinguish  such  false  beauties  from  those  that  are  solid  and 
natural. 

A.  Do  you  love  quavering  notes  in  music  ?  Are  you  not  better 
pleased  with  those  brisk,  significant  notes,  that  describe  things,  and 
express  the  passions  ? 

B.  Yes,  certainly;  for  quavers  are  of  no  use  :  they  only  amuse 
the  ear,  and  do  not  affect  the  mind.  Our  music  was  once  full  of 
them  ;  and  was  therefore  very  weak  and  confused  :  but  now  we 
begin  to  refine  our  taste,  and  to  come  nearer  the  music  of  the  an- 
cients, which  is  a  kind  of  passionate  declamation  that  acts  power- 
fully upon  the  soul. 

A.  I  knew  that  music,  of  which  you  are  so  good  a  judge,  would 
serve  to  make  you  understand  what  concerns  eloquence.  There 
ought  to  be  a  kind  of  eloquence  in  music  itself ;  and  in  both  these 
arts  we  ought  to  reject  all  false  and  trifling  beauties.  Do  you  not 
perceive  now  that  by  a  trilling  discourse  I  mean  the  humming  jin- 
gle of  languid;  uniform  periods  ;  a  chiming  of  words  that  returns 
perpetually,  like  the  burden  of  a  song?  This  is  the  false  eloquence 
that  resembles  bad  music. 

B.  I  wish.  Sir,  you  could  make  it  a  little  plainer  still. 

A.  The  reading  of  good  and  bad  orators  will  more  effectually 
form  your  taste,  on  this  point,  than  all  the  rules  in  the  world.  How- 
ever, it  were  easy  to  satisfy   you  by  some  pertinent  examples.     I 

*  False  eloquence,  like  the  prismatic  glass 

Its  gaudy  colours  spreads  on  every  place  ; 

The  face  of  nature  we  no  more  survey, 

All  glares  alike  without  distinction  gay. 

But  true  expression,  like  the  unchanging  sun. 

Clears  and  improves  whate'er  it  shines  upon. 

It  gilds  all  objects,  but  it  alters  none. 

Expression  is  the  dress  of  thought,  and  still 

Appears  more  decent,  as  more  suitable. — Essay  on  Criticism. 


66  FENELON'S  DIALOGUES 

will  not  mention  any  modern  ones,  though  we  abound  in  false  orna- 
ments. That  I  may  not  offend  any  person,  let  us  return  to  Iso- 
crates,  who  is  the  standard  of  those  nice  and  florid  harangues  that 
are  now  in  vogue.  Did  jou  ever  read  his  famous  panegyric  on 
Helen  ? 

B.     Yes  :  I  have  read  it  some  time  ago. 

A.  How  did  you  like  it  1 

B.  Extremely  well.  I  thought  I  never  saw  so  much  wit,  ele- 
gance, sweetness,  invention,  and  delicacy,  in  any  composure.  I 
own  to  you  that  Homer  himself  (whom  I  read  afterwards,)  did  not 
seem  to  have  so  much  spirit  as  he.  But  now  that  you  have  shown 
me  what  ought  to  be  the  true  aim  of  poets  and  orators,  I  see  plain- 
ly that  Homer,  who  concealed  his  art,  vastly  surpasses  Isocrates 
who  took  so  much  pains  to  display  his  skill.  But  I  was  once  charm- 
ed with  that  orator,  and  should  have  been  so  still,  if  you  had  not 
undeceived  me.  Mr. is  the  Isocrates  of  our  days  ;  and  I  per- 
ceive that  by  showing  the  defects  of  that  ancient  orator,  you  con- 
demn all  those  who  imitate  his  florid,  effeminate  rhetoric. 

A.  I  am  now  speaking  of  Isocrates  only — in  the  beginning  of 
his  encomium  he  magnifies  the  love  that  Theseus  had  for  Helen, 
and  fancied  that  he  should  give  a  lofty  idea  of  her,  by  describing 
the  heroic  qualities  of  that  great  man  who  fell  in  love  with  her:  as 
if  Theseus  (whom  the  ancients  always  represent  as  weak  and  incon- 
stant in  his  amours,)  could  not  have  been  smitten  with  a  woman  of  a 
moderate  beauty.  Then  he  comes  to  the  judgment  that  Paris 
formed  of  her.  He  says  that  a  dispute  having  arisen  among  the 
goddesses  concerning  their  beauty,  they  agreed  to  make  Paris 
judge  of  it ;  upon  v/hich  occasion  Juno  proffered  him  the  empire  of 
Asia,  Minerva  assured  him  of  constant  victory  in  battles,  and  Venus 
tempted  him  with  the  beautiful  Helen.  Now  seeing  Paris,  when 
he  was  to  determine  this  matter  could  not  behold  the  faces  of  those 
goddesses,  because  of  their  dazzling  splendour,  he  could  only  judge 
of  the  worth  of  the  three  things  that  they  offered;  and  upon  the 
comparison  he  preferred  Helen  to  empire  and  to  victory.  Then 
the  orator  praises  the  judgment  of  Paris,  in  whose  determination 
the  goddesses  themselves  acquiesced,  and  adds  these  remarkable 
words  :*  *  I  wonder  that  any  one  should  think  Paris  indiscreet  in 

^f  liixcc  ^oXXoi  rm  *ift.i6im  uTroh^a-KHV  ii^iXvi(recv.  Isocr.  Hel.  Land, 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  67 

choosing  to  live  with  her,  for  whom  many  demi-gods  would  have 
been  willing  to  die.' 

C.  This  puts  me  in  mind  of  our  preachers  who  are  so  full  of 
antitheses  and  turns  of  wit.  There  are  a  great  many  such  orators 
as  Isocrates. 

A.  He  is  their  master ;  all  the  rest  of  his  panegyric  is  of  the* 
same  strain.  It  is  founded  on  the  long  war  of  Troy ;  the  calamities 
that  the  Greeks  suffered  for  the  rape  of  Helen,  and  the  praise  of 
beauty  which  has  so  much  power  over  men.  There  is  nothing  in 
the  whole  discourse  solidly  proved,  nor  the  least  point  of  moral  in- 
struction. He  judges  of  the  worth  of  things  only  according  to 
men's  extravagant  passions.  And  as  his  proofs  are  weak,  so  his 
style  is  flourished  and  finical.  I  quoted  this  passage,  profane  as  it 
is,  because  it  is  a  very  famous  one  ;  and  because  this  affected 
manner  is  very  much  in  fashion.  The  more  grave  discourses  of 
Isocrates  are  composed  in  the  same  spruce,  effeminate  way ;  and 
are  full  of  such  false  beauties  as  that  I  now  mentioned. 

C.  I  find  you  like  none  of  those  witty  turns  which  have  noth- 
ing in  them  that  is  either  solid,  natural  or  affecting;  and  tend 
neither  to  convince,  nor  paint,  nor  persuade.  The  example  you 
have  brought  from  Isocrates,  though  it  be  upon  a  trifling  subject, 
is  yet  very  pertinent ;  for,  all  such  tinsel-wit  must  appear  still 
more  ridiculous  when  it  is  applied  to  grave  and  serious  mat- 
ters. 

A.  But,  Sir,  as  to  Isocrates,  do  not  you  think  I  had  reason  to 
censure  him  as  freely  as  TuUy  assures  us  Aristotle  did  1 

B.  What  says  Tully  t 

A.  That  Aristotlef  perceiving  Isocrates  had  perverted  elo- 
quence from  its  proper  use  to  amusement  and  ostentation  ;  and 
thereby  drawn  to  himself  the  most  considerable  disciples,  he  ap- 
plied to  him  a  verse  of  Philoctetes,  to  show  how  much  he  was 
ashamed  of  being  silent  while  that  vain  declaimer  carried  all  before 
him.     But  I  have  done  now  :  it  is  time  for  me  to  be  going. 

B.  We  cannot  part  with  you  so  soon,  Sir  :  will  you  then  allow 
of  no  antitheses  P 

*  His  very  next  words  are  these, — Haq  ^  tiK  av  «*j  uvonro^  k  r^g  ^iec^ 
«5«?  TTift  xdxXng  (piXoveiK^a'eeg,  uvrog  KclxXag  KXT&^^dvtjas,  kxi  fAtj  r»VTt)r 
tvofun  fctyi'mv  nmt  rm  ^ufSv,  yei^)  yig  KXKHvxg  iapx  f^ecXirx  o-'m^x^iia-xg  i — . 

Ibid. 
tLib,  3.  §.35. 


68  FENELON'S   DIALOGUES 

A.  Yes  :  when  the  things  we  speak  of  are  naturally  opposite 
one  to  another,  it  may  be  proper  enough  to  show  their  opposition. 
Such  antitheses  are  just,  and  have  a  solid  beauty  ;  and  a  right  ap- 
plication of  them  is  often  the  most  easy  and  concise  manner  of  ex- 
plaining things.  But  it  is  extremely  childish  to  use  artificial  turns 
and  windings  to  make  words  clash  and  play  one  against  another. 
At  first,  this  may  happen  to  dazzle  those  who  have  no  taste  ;  but 
they  soon  grow  weary  of  such  a  silly  affectation.  Did  you  ever  ob- 
serve the  Gothic  architecture  of  our  old  churches  ? 

B.  Yes  ;  it  is  very  common. 

A.  Did  you  take  notice  of  the  roses,  holes,  unconnected  orna- 
ments, and  disjointed  little  knacks,  that  these  Gothic  buildings  are 
full  of  These  odd  conceits  are  just  such  beauties  in  architecture 
as  forced  antitheses  and  quibbles  are  in  eloquence.  The  Grecian 
architecture  is  far  more  simple,  and  admits  of  none  but  natural, 
solid,  and  majestic  ornaments  :  we  see  nothing  in  it  but  what  is 
great,  proportioned,  and  well  placed.  But  the  Gothic  kind  was  in- 
vented by  the  Arabians  ;  who,  being  a  people  of  a  quick,  sprightly 
fancy,  and  having  no  rule,  nor  culture,  could  scarce  avoid  falling 
into  these  whimsical  niceties.  And  this  vivacity  corrupted  their 
taste  in  all  other  things.  For  they  used  sophisms  in  their  logic, 
they  loved  little  knacks  in  architecture,  and  invented  witticisms  in 
poetry  and  eloquence.     All  these  are  of  the  same  kind. 

B.  This  is  curious  indeed.  You  think  then  that  a  sermon,  full 
of  forced  antitheses,  and  such  kind  of  ornaments,  is  like  a  church 
built  in  the  Gothic  way. 

A.  Yes  :  I  think  the  comparison  is  just. 

B.  Let  me  ask  you  but  one  question  more  ;  and  then  you  shall 

go- 

w5.     What  is  it  ? 

B.  It  seems  very  difficult  to  give  a  particular  account  of  facts, 
in  a  noble  style  ;  and  yet  we  ought  to  do  so  if  we  talk  solidly  as  you 
require.  Pray,  what  is  the  proper  style  for  expatiating  in  such 
cases  1 

A.  We  are  so  much  afraid  of  a  low  strain,  that  our  expressions 
are  usually  dry,  lifeless,  and  indeterminate.  They  who  praise  a  saint 
pitch  on  the  most  magnificent  phrases  ;  they  tell  us  he  was  an 
admirable  person — that  his  virtues  were  celestial — that  he  was 
rather  an  angel,  than  a  man.  And  thus  the  whole  encomium  is  a 
mere  declamation  without  any  proof;  and  without  drawing  a  just 
character.     On  the  contrary,  the  ancient  Greeks  made  little  use  of 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  69 

these  general  terms  which  prove  nothing  ;  but  they  insisted  much 
on  facts,  and  the  particulars  of  a  character.  For  instance,  Xeno- 
phon  does  not  once  say  in  all  his  Cyropaidia,  that  Cyrus  was  an 
admirable  man  ;  but  throughout  the  work  he  makes  us  really  admire 
him.  Thus  is  it  that  we  ought  to  praise  holy  persons,  by  entering 
into  the  particular  detail  of  their  sentiments  and  actions.  But  there 
prevails  an  affected  politeness  among  the  pedantic  and  conceited 
part  of  all  ranks  and  professions,  who  value  themselves  upon  their 
wit  or  learning.  They  never  venture  to  use  any  expression  but 
what  they  reckon  fine  and  uncommon.  They  talk  always  in  a* 
high  strain  ;  and  would  think  it  beneath  them  to  call  things  by  their 
proper  names.  Now  in  true  eloquence  almost  every  thing  may  be 
introduced.  The  perfection  of  poetry  itself,  (which  is  the  loftiest 
kind  of  composure)  depends  on  a  full  and  lively  description  of 
things  in  all  their  circumstances.  When  Virgil  represents  the 
Trojan  fleet  leaving  the  African  shore,  or  arriving  on  the  coast  of 
Italy,  you  see  every  proper  circumstance  exactly  described.  But 
we  must  own  that  the  Greeks  entered  still  further  into  the  particu- 
lar detail  of  things  ;  and  followed  nature  more  closely  in  represent- 
ing the  smallest  circumstances.  For  which  reason,  many  people 
would  be  apt,  if  they  dared,  to  reckon  Homer  too  plain  and  simple 
in  his  narrations.  In  this  ancient,  beautiful  simplicity,  (which  few 
are  able  to  relish,)  this  poet  very  much  resembles  the  holy  scrip- 
ture ;  but  in  many  places  the  sacred  writing  surpass  his,  as  much 
as  he  excels  all  the  other  ancients,  in  a  natural  and  lively  repre- 
sentation of  things. 

B.  In  relating  facts,  then,  ought  we  to  describe  every  individual 
circumstance  that  belongs  to  them? 

A.  No ;  we  should  represent  nothing  to  the  hearers  but  what 
deserves  their  attention,  and  helps  to  give  a  clear  and  just  idea  of 
the  things  we  describe;  so  that  it  requires  great  judgment  to 
make  a  rightt  choice  of  circumstances.  But  we  must  not  be  afraid 
of  mentioning  such  as  can  be  any  way  serviceable;  for  it  is  a 
false  politeness  that  leads  us  to  suppress  some  useful  things,  because 
we  do  not  think  them  capable  of  any  ornament.     Besides,  Homer 

*  Prima  est  eloquentise  virtus  perspicuitas ;  et  quo  quisque  ingenio  minus 
valet,  hoc  se  magis  attollere,  et  dilatare  conatur  :  ut  statura  breves  indigitos 
eriguntur  ;  et  plura  infirmi  ininantur.  Nam  tumidos,  et  corruptos,  et  tinulos, 
et  quocumque  alio  cacozeliae  genere  peccantes,  cerium  habto,  non  virium,  sed 
infirmitatis  vitio  laborare  :    ut  corpora  non  robore,  sed  valetudine,  inflantur. 

Quint.  lib.  ii.  c.  3. 
t  See  Longinus,  §  x. 


^0  FENELON'S    DIALOGUES 

has  shown  us  by  his  example,  that  we  might  give  a*  proper  grace 
and  embellishment  to  every  subject. 

B.  Seeing  you  condemn  the  florid,  swelling  style,  what  kind 
do  you  reckon  fittest  for  public  use  ? 

A.  There  ought  to  be  a  variety  of  style  in  every  discourse. 
We  should  rise  in  our  expression  when  we  speak  of  lofty  subjects  ; 
and  bet  familiar,  in  common  ones,  without  being  coarse,  or  grovel- 
ling. In  most  cases,  an  easy  simplicity  and  exactness  are  sufficient, 
though  some  things  require  vehemence  and  sublimity.  If  a  pain- 
ter should  draw  nothing  but  magnificent  palaces,  he  could  not  fol- 
low truth,  but  must  paint  his  own  fancies  -,  and  by  that  means  soon 
cloy  us.  He  ought  to  copy  nature  in  its  agreeable  varieties :  and 
alter  drawing  a  stately  city,  it  might  be  proper  to  represent  a  desert, 
and  the  huts  of  shepherds.  Most  of  those  who  aim  at  making  fine 
harangues  injudiciously  labour  to  clothe  all  their  thoughts  in  a| 
pompous,  gaudy  dress  ;  and  they  fancy  that  they  have  succeeded 
happily,  when  they  express  some  general  remarks  in  a  florid,  lofty 
style.  Their  only  care  is  to  fill  their  discourse  with  abundance  of 
ornaments,  to  please  the   vitiated  taste  of  their  audience  j  like  ig- 

*  Fu-st  follow  nature,  and  your  judgment  firame 
By  her  just  standard,  which  is  still  the  same  : 
Unerring  nature,  still  divinely  bright, 
One  clear,  unchang'd,  and  universal  light; 
Life,  force,  and  beauty,  must  to  all  impart. 
At  once  the  source,  and  end,  and  test  of  art. 
Art  from  that  fund  each  just  supply  provides, 
Works  without  show;  and  without  pomp  presides. 
Those  rules  of  old  discover'd,  not  devis'd, 
Are  nature  still,  but  nature  methodis'd  : 
Nature  like  monarchy,  is  but  restrain'd 
By  the  same  laws  which  first  herself  ordain'd. 

Essay  on  Criticism. 
f   E<s-i)>    atp'    0    i'^KOTta-f^o^    Iviori   rS  jcoa-fca    TrccfcctroXv    e^(pecvi^iKcoripoy' 

Wtyivaa-Kilcci  ya,^   ctino^v  he  t»  kcivh  /Bin.      ro  ^i   (rvvn^ig  K^n  TTi^ortfo 

rxvrei  yuf  ly[vs  ttx^oc^vh  tkv  iharnv,  uXX'  iSK  ihofTivet  rf  oiifcxvriKa. 

Longinus,  §  xxxi. 

tNamque  illud  genus  ostentationi  compositum,  solum  petit  audientiam  vo- 
luptatem  :  ideoque  omnes  dicendi  artes  aperit,  ornatumque  orationis  exponit — 
mala  affectatio,  per  omne  dicendi  genus  peccat.  Nam  et  tumida,  et  exilia,  et 
prffidulcia,  et  abundantia,  et  arcessita,  et  exultantia  sub  idem  nomen  cadunt. 
Denique  xaxo^uAov  vocatur,  quicquid  est  ultra  virtutem  ;  quoties  ingenium  ju- 
dicio  caret,  ei  specie  boni  falletur  ;  omnium  in  eloquentia  vitiorum  pessimum  : 
nam  caetera  cum  vitentur,  hoc  petitur.  Quint,  lib.  viii.  c.  3. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  71 

norant  cooks  who  know  not  how  to  season  dishes,  in  a  proper,  nat- 
ural way ;  but  fancy  they  must  give  them  an  exquisite  relish  by 
mixing  excessive  quantities  of  the  most  seasoning  things.  But  the 
style  of  a  true  orator  has  nothing  in  it  that  is  swelling  or  ostenta- 
tious ;  he  always  adapts  it  to  the  subjects  he  treats  of,  and  the  per- 
sons he  instructs,  and  manages  it  so  judiciously  that  he  never  aims 
at  being  sublime  and  lofty,  but  when  he  ought  to  be  so. 

B.  What  you  said  concerning  the  language  of  scripture  makes 
me  wish  earnestly  that  you  would  show  us  the  beauty  of  it.  May 
we  not  see  you  some  time  to-morrow  ? 

A.  I  shall  hardly  have  time  to-morrow  :  but  I  will  endeavour 
to  wait  on  you  this  evening.  And  since  you  seem  so  desirous  of 
it,  we  will  talk  of  the  word  of  God  :  for  hitherto  we  have  only  spok- 
en of  the  language  of  men. 

C.  Farewell,  Sir  ;  I  beg  of  you  to  be  punctual  :  otherwise  we 
must  come  and  find  you  out. 


THE  THIRD  DIALOGUE. 

C.  I  BEGAN  to  fear.  Sir,  that  you  would  not  come,  and  was  very 
near  going  to  see  for  you  at  Mr.  . 

A.  I  was  detained  by  a  perplexing  affair  I  had  upon  my  hands  : 
but  I  have  got  rid  of  it  to  my  satisfaction. 

B.  1  am  very  glad  of  it :  for  we  wanted  you  extremely  to  finish 
the  subject  we  were  talking  of  in  the  morning. 

C.  Since  I  parted  with  you.  Sir,  I  heard  a  sermon   at , 

and  I  thought  of  you.  The  preacher  spoke  in  a  very  edifying  man- 
ner :  but  I  question  whether  the  common  people  understood  him 
or  not. 

A.  It  happens  but  too  often  (as  I  heard  an  ingenious  lady  ob- 
serve,) that  our  preachers  speak  Latin  in  English.  The  most  es- 
sential quality  of  a  good  preacher  is  to  be  instructive  :  but  he  must 
have  great  abilities  and  experience  to  make  him  so.  On  the  one 
hand  he  must  be  perfectly  acquainted  with  the  force  of  scripture 
expressions  :  on  the  other,  he  must  understand  the  capacity  of  those 
to  whom  he  preaches,  and  adapt  himself  to  it. 

Now  this  requires  a  solid  knowledge,  and  great  discernment. 
Preachers  speak  every  day  to  people,  of  the  scripture,  the  church, 
35 


72  FENELON'S   DIALOGUES 

the  Mosaic  law,  the  gospel,  of  sacrifices,  of  Moses  and  Aaron,  and 
Melchisdec,  of  the  prophets  and  apostles;  but  there  is  not  sufficient 
care  taken  to  instruct  the  people  in  the  true  meaning  of  these  things 
and  in  the  characters  of  those  holy  persons.  One  might  follow 
some  preachers  twenty  years,  without  getting  sufficient  knowledge 
of  religion. 

B.  Do  you  think  that  people  are  really  ignorant  of  those  things 
you  mentioned  ? 

C.  For  my  part,  I  believe  they  are  :  and  that  few  or  none  under- 
stand them  enough  to  receive  any  benefit  from  sermons. 

B.  That  may  be  true  of  the  lowest  rank  of  people. 

C.  Well ;  ought  not  they  to  be  instructed  as  well  as  others  ? 
Do  not  they  make  up  the  bulk  of  mankind  ? 

A.  The  truth  is,  persons  of  rank  and  fashion  have  but  little 
more  knowledge  of  religion  than  the  common  people.  There  are 
always  three  fourth  parts  of  an  ordinary  audience,  who  do  not  know 
those  first  principles  of  religion,  in  which  the  preacher  supposes  ev- 
ery one  to  be  fully  instructed. 

B.  Would  you  then  have  him  explain  the  catechism  in  his  ser- 
mons to  a  polite  congregation  ? 

A.  I  grant  there  is  a  due  regard  to  be  had  to  an  audience,  and 
discretion  to  be  used  in  adapting  a  discourse  to  their  capacity.  But 
still  without  giving  the  least  offence,  a  preacher  might  remind  the 
most  discerning  hearers  of  those  passages  of  sacred  history,  which 
explain  the  origin  and  institution  of  holy  things.  This  way  of  hav- 
ing recourse  to  the  first  foundations  of  religion,  would  be  so  far 
from  seeming  low,  that  it  would  give  most  discourses  that  force  and 
beauty  which  they  generally  want.  This  is  particularly  true  with 
regard  to  the  mysteries  of  religion  ;  for  the  hearers  can  never  be 
instructed,  nor  persuaded,  if  you  do  not  trace  things  back  to  their 
source.  For  example,  how  can  you  make  them  understand  what 
the  church  says,  after*  St.Paul,  that  Jesus  Christ  is  our  Passover, 
if  you  do  not  explain  to  them  the  Jewish  Passover,  which  was  ap- 
pointed to  be  a  perpetual  memorial  of  their  deliverance  from  Egypt, 
and  to  typify  a  more  important  redemption  that  was  reserved  for  the 
Messiah.  It  is  for  this  reason,  I  said  that  almost  every  thing  in  re- 
ligion is  historical.  And  if  preachers  would  have  a  full  knowledge 
of  this  truth,  they  must  be  very  conversant  in  the  scripture. 

B.  You  must  excuse  my  interrupting  you  on  this  subject ;  Sir, 
you  told  us  in  the  morning  that  the  scriptures  are  eloquent,  and  I 

*  1  Cor.  V.  7. 


CONCERNING   ELOQUENCE.  78' 

was  glad  to  hear  you  say  so.  Let  me  entreat  you  to  show  us  how 
we  may  discern  the  beauties  of  scripture,  and  in  what  its  eloquence 
consists.  The  Latin  Bible  seems  to  me  most  vulgar  and  inaccu- 
rate. 1  see  no  delicacy  in  it.  What  is  it  then  that  you  so  much 
admire  ? 

A.  The  Latin  is  only  a  literal  version,  in  which,  out  of  re- 
spect to  the  original,  there  are  many  Greek  and  Hebrew  phrases 
retained.  Do  you  despise  Homer  because  he  has  been  sorrily  trans- 
lated into  French  ? 

B.  But  the  Greek  itself  (which  is  the  original  language  of  the 
New  Testament)  appears  to  me  very  coarse  and  unpolite. 

A.  The  apostles  were  not  acquainted  with  the  genuine  Greek, 
but  used  that  corrupted  kind  which  prevailed  among  the  Hellenis- 
tical  Jews.  For  this  reason  St.  Paul  says*  *  I  am  rude  in  speech,' 
but  not  in  knowledge.  It  is  very  obvious  that  the  apostle  here  on- 
ly meant  he  was  not  a  master  of  the  Greek  tongue,  though  he  sol- 
idly explained  the  doctrine  of  the  holy  scripture. 

C.  Had  not  the  apostles  the  gift  of  speaking  unknown  tongues  ? 
A.     Undoubtedly :    and    they  even   conveyed   that  gift  to  great 

numbers  of  their  illiterate  converts.  But  as  for  the  languages  that 
the  apostles  had  learnt  in  a  natural  way,  we  have  reason  to  believe 
that  the  Spirit  of  God  permitted  them  to  speak  as  they  did  before. 
St.  Paul,  who  was  a  citizen  of  Tarsus,  in  Cilicia,  naturally  spake 
the  corrupted  Greek  used  among  the  Jews  there :  and  we  find  that 
this  is  the  lanafuage  he  wrote  in.  St.  Luke  seems  to  have  un- 
derstood  Greek  a  little  better. 

C.  But  I  always  thought  that  in  the  passage  you  mentioned,  St. 
Paul  gave  up  all  pretences  to  oratory,  and  regarded  nothing  but  the 
iimplicity  of  the  evangelical  doctrine.  Nay,  I  have  heard  several 
persons  of  worth  and  good  judgment  affirm  that  the  holy  scripture 
is  not  eloquent.  St.  Jerom  was  punished  for  being  disgusted  at 
the  simplicity  of  scripture,  and  liking  Tully  better.  St.  Austin 
(in  his  confessions)  seems  to  have  fallen  into  the  same  fault.  Did 
not  God  intend  to  try  our  faith  by  the  obscurity,  and  even  by  the 
lowness  of  the  scripture  style,  as  well  as  by  the  poverty  of  our 
Redeemer  ? 

w5.  You  seem,  Sir,  to  carry  this  point  too  far.  Whether  do  you 
choose  to  believe  St.  Jerom  when  he  was  punished  for  having  fol- 
lowed his  youthful  studies  too  closely  in  his  retreat ;  or  when  he 

*  2  Cor.  xi.  16. 


74  FENELON'S    DIALOGUES 

had  made  the  greatest  progress  both  in  sacred  and  profane  learn- 
ing ;  and,  in  an  epistle  to  Paulinus,  invited  him  to  study  the  scrip- 
ture— assuring  him  that  he  would  find  more  charms  in  the  prophets 
than  he  had  discovered  in  the  heathen  poets  ?  Or,  was  St.  Austin's 
judgment  better  in  his  youth,  when  the  seeming  meanness  of  the 
sacred  style  disgusted  him,  than  when  he  composed  his  books  Of 
the  Christian  Doctrine  1  There  he  often  says  that  St.  Paul  was 
powerfully  persuasive  ;  and  that  the  torrent  of  his  eloquence  must 
be  perceived  by  the  most  unattentive  reader.  He  adds,  that  in  the 
apostle,  wisdom  did  not  seek  after  the  beauty  of  language  ;  but  that 
the  beautiesof  language  offered  themselves,  and  attended  his  wisdom. 
He  quotes  many  lofty  passages  of  his  epistles,  wherein  he  shows  all 
the  art  and  address  of  the  heathen  orators  far  outdone.  St.  Austin 
excepts  only  two  things  in  this  comparison  :  he  says,  that  these  or- 
ators studied  the  ornaments  of  eloquence  ;  but  that  the  beauties  of 
oratory  naturally  followed  St.  Paul,  and  others  of  the  sacred  writers. 
And  then  he  owns  that  he  did  not  sufficiently  understand  the  deli- 
cacies of  the  Greek  tongue,  to  be  a  competent  judge,  whether  there 
be  the  same  numbers  and  cadence  of  periods  in  the  sacred  text, 
that  we  meet  with  in  profane  authors.  I  forgot  to  tell  you  that  he 
quotes  that  passage  of  the  prophet  Amos  which  begins  thus,*  *  wo 
to  them  that  are  at  ease  in  Zion,  and  trust  in  the  mountain  of  Sa- 
maria  :'  and  assures  us  that  in  this  place  the  prophet  has 

surpassed  every  thing  that  is  sublime  in  the  heathen  orators. 

C,     But  how  do  you  understand  these  words  of  SI.  Paul  ;t  '  my 
speech  and  my  preaching   was  not  with   the  enticing  (persuasive) 

words  of  man's  wisdom V     Does  he  not  tell  the  Corinthians  that 

he  came  not  to  preach  Christ  to  them,  with  the  sublimity  of  dis- 
course and  of  wisdom  :  that  he  '  knew  nothing  among  them  but 
Jesus,  and  him  crucified  :'  that  his  preaching  was  founded  not  up- 
on the  persuasive  language  of  human  wisdom  and  learning,  but 
upon  the  sensible  effects  of  the  Spirit  and  the  power  of  God  ;  to 
the  end  (as  he  adds)  •  that  their  faith  should  not  depend  upon  the 
wisdom  of  men,  but  on  the  power  of  God  r'  What  is  the  meaning 
of  these  words.  Sir  ?  What  stronger  expression  could  the  apostle 
use  to  condemn  this  art  of  persuasion  that  you  would  establish  ? 
For  my  part,  I  freely  own  that  at  first  I  was  glad  when  you  censur- 
ed all  those  affected  ornaments  of  discourse  that  vain  declaimers  are 
go  fond  of;  but  the  sequel  of  your   scheme  does  not  answer  the  pi- 

*Ch.  vi.  tlCor.  xi.  4. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  75 

ous  beginning  of  it.     I  find  that  you  would  still  make  preaching  a 
human  art,  and  banish  apostolical  simplicity  from  the  pulpit. 

Jl.  Though  you  judge  very  unfavourably  of  my  esteem  for  elo- 
quence, I  am  not  dissatisfied  at  the  zeal  with  which  you  censure  it. 
However,  Sir,  let  us  endeavour  to  understand  one  another  aright. 
There  are  several  worthy  persons  who  judge,  with  you,  that  elo- 
quent preaching  is  repugnant  to  the  simplicity  of  the  gospel.  But 
when  we  have  mutually  explained  our  sentiments,  perhaps  they 
may  be  found  to  agree.  What  then  do  you  mean  by  simplicity? 
And  what  do  you  call  eloquence  ? 

C.  By  simplicity,  I  mean  a  discourse  without  any  artifice  or 
magnificence.  By  eloquence,  1  mean  a  discourse  full  of  art  and 
ornaments. 

A.  When  you  require  an  artless,  simple  discourse,  would  you 
have  it  without  order  and  cdnnexion,  without  solid  and  convincing 
proofs,  and  without  a  proper  method  for  instructing  the  ignorant  ? 
Would  you  have  a  preacher  say  nothing  that  is  pathetic;  and  never 
endeavour  to  affect  the  heart  1 

C.  Far  from  it :  I  would  have  a  discourse  that  both  instructs 
and  moves  people. 

A.  That  would  make  it  eloquent :  for  we  have  seen  before  that 
eloquence  is  the  art  of  instructing  and  persuading  men,  by  moving 
their  passions. 

C  I  grant  that  preachers  ought  to  convince  and  affect  their 
hearers ;  but  I  would  have  them  to  do  it  without  art,  by  an  apostol- 
ical simplicity. 

A.  The  more  artless  and  natural  such  a  convincing,  persuasive 
eloquence  is,  it  must  be  the  more  powerful.  But  let  us  inquire 
whether  the  art  of  persuasion  be  inconsistent  with  the  simplicity  of 
the  gospel.     What  mean  you  by  art  ? 

C  I  mean  a  system  of  rules  that  men  have  invented,  and  usu- 
ally observe  in  their  discourses,  to  make  them  more  beautiful,  ele- 
gant and  pleasing. 

A.  If  by  art  you  only  mean  this  invention  to  render  a  discourse 
more  handsome  and  polished  in  order  to  please  people,  1  will  not 
I  dispute  with  you  about  words,  but  will  readily  acknowledge  that 
this  art  ought  not  to  be  admitted  into  sermons :  for,  (as  we  agreed 
before)  this  vanity  is  unworthy  of  eloquence,  and  far  more  unbe- 
coming the  sacred  function.  This  is  the  very  point  about  which  I 
reasoned  so  much  with  Mr.  B.     But  if  by  art  and  eloquence,  you 


76  FENELON'S  DIALOGUES 

mean  what  the  most  judicious   writers   among  the  ancients  under 
stood,  we  must  then  set  a  just  value  upon  eloquence. 

C.     What  did  they  understand  by  it  1 

A.  According  to  them  the  art  of  eloquence  comprehends  those 
means  that  wise  reflection  and  experience  have  discovered  to  ren- 
der a  discourse  proper  to  persuade  men  of  the  truth,  and  to  engage 
them  to  love  and  obey  it.  And  this  is  what  you  think  every  preach- 
er should  be  able  to  do.  For  did  you  not  say  that  you  approved  of 
order,  and  a  right  manner  of  instruction,  solidity  of  reasoning,  and 
pathetic  movements ;  I  mean  such  as  can  touch  and  affect  people's 
hearts  ?  Now  this  is  what  I  call  eloquence  :  you  may  give  it  what 
name  you  please. 

C.  Now  I  comprehend  your  notion  of  eloquence  :  and  I  cannot 
but  acknowledge  that  such  a  manly,  grave,  serious  manner  of  per- 
suasion, would  much  become  the  pulpit"  and  that  it  seems  even  ne- 
cessary to  instruct  people  with  success.  But  how  do  you  under- 
stand those  words  of  St.  Paul  that  I  quoted  before  ?  Do  they  not 
expressly  condemn  eloquence  ? 

A.  In  order  to  explain  the  apostle's  words,  let  me  ask  you  a 
few  questions. 

C.     As  many  as  you  please.  Sir. 

£.  Is  it  not  true  that  the  apostle  argues  with  wonderful  strength 
in  his  epistles  ?  Does  he  not  reason  finely  against  the  heathen  phi- 
losophers and  the  Jews,  in  his  epistle  to  the  Romans  1  Is  there  not 
great  force,  in  what  he  says  concerning  the  inability  of  the  Mosaic 
law  to  justify  men? 

C.     Certainly. 

A.  Is  there  not  a  chain  of  solid  reasoning  in  his  epistle  to  the 
Hebrews,  about  the  insufficiency  of  the  ancient  sacrifices  ;  the  rest 
that  David  promised  to  the  children  of  God,  besides  that  which  the 
Israelites  enjoyed  in  Palestine  after  Joshua's  days;  concerning  the 
order  of  Aaron,  and  that  of  Melchisedec,  and  the  spiritual  and  eter- 
nal covenant  that  behooved  to  succeed  the  carnal  and  earthly  one 
which  was  established  by  the  mediation  of  Moses,  for  a  time  only  1 
Are  not  the  apostle's  arguments  on  these  several  subjects  very  strong 
and  conclusive  ? 

C     I  think  they  are. 

A.  When  St.  Paul  therefore  disclaimed  the  use  of  *  the  persua- 
sive words  of  man's  wisdom,'  he  did  not  mean  to  condemn  true 
wisdom,  and  the  force  of  reasoning. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  77 

C.     That  appears  plainly  from  his  own  example. 

A.  Why  then  do  you  think  that  he  meant  to  condemn  solid  el- 
oquence, any  more  than  true  wisdom  ? 

C.  Because  he  expressly  rejects  eloquence  in  that  passage  which 
I  desired  you  to  explain. 

A,  But  doth  he  not  likewise  disclaim  wisdom  ?  The  place  seems 
to  be  more  express  against  wisdom,  and  human  reasoning,  than 
against  eloquence.  And  yet  he  himself  reasoned  frequently,  and 
was  very  eloquent.  You  grant  that  he  argued  well ;  and  St.  Aus- 
tin assures  you  that  the  apostle  was  an  orator. 

C.  You  plainly  point  out  the  difficulty,  but  you  do  not  answer 
it.     Pray,  show  us  how  it  is  to  be  solved. 

A.  St.  Paul  reasoned  much  ;  he  persuaded  effectually ;  so  that 
he  was  really  an  excellent  philosopher  and  an  orator.  But  as  he 
tells  us  in  the  place  you  quoted — his  preaching  was  not  founded  on 
human  reasoning,  nor  on  the  art  of  persuasion.  It  was  a  ministry 
of  divine  institution,  that  owed  its  efficacy  to  God  alone.  The  con- 
version of  the  whole  world  was,  according  to  the  ancient  prophecies, 
to  be  the  great  and  standing  miracle  of  the  Christian  religion.  This 
was  the  kingdom  of  God  that  came  from  heaven,  and  was  to  con- 
vert and  reduce  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  to  the  worship  and  ser- 
vice of  the  true  God.  Jesus  Christ  crucified,  by  his  being  declared 
to  them,  was  to  draw  them  all  to  himself  merely  by  the  power  of 
his  cross.  The  philosophers  had  reasoned  and  disputed,  without 
converting  either  themselves  or  others.  The  Jews  had  been  in- 
trusted with  a  law  that  showed  them  their  miseries,  but  could  not 
relieve  them.  All  mankind  were  convinced  of  the  general  disorder 
and  corruption  that  reigned  among  them.  Jesus  Christ  came  with 
his  cross ;  that  is,  he  came  poot,  humble,  and  suffering  for  us.  To 
silence  our  vain,  presumptuous  reason,  he  did  not  argue  like  the 
philosophers,  but  he  determined  with  authority.  By  his  miracles, 
and  his  grace,  he  showed  that  he  was  above  all.  That  he  might 
confound  the  false  wisdom  of  men,  he  sets  before  them  the  seeming 
folly  and  scandal  of  his  cross  ;  that  is,  the  example  of  his  profound 
humiliation.  That  which  mankind  reckoned*  folly,  and  at  which 
they  were  most  offended,  was  the  very  thing  that  should  convert 
and  lead  them  to  God.  They  wanted  to  be  cured  of  their  pride, 
and  their  excessive  love  of  sensible  objects  ;  and  to  affect  them  the 
more,  God  showed  them  his  Son  crucified.     The  apostles  preached 

*  1  Cor.  i.  23,  25. 


78  FENELON'S  DIALOGUES 

him,  and  walked  in  his  steps.  They  had  not  recourse  to  any  hu- 
man means,  neither  to  philosophy,  nor  rhetoric,  nor  policy,  nor 
wealth,  nor  authority.  God  would  have  the  sole  glory  of  his  work  : 
and  the  success  of  it  to  depend  entirely  on  himself;  he  therefore 
chose  what  is  weak,  and  rejected  what  is  strong,  to  display  his  power 
in  the  most  sensible  manner.  He  brought  all  out  of  nothing  in  the 
conversion  of  the  world,  as  well  as  at  tlie  creation  of  it.  That  work 
therefore  had  this  divine  character  stamped  upon  it,  that  it  was  not 
founded  upon  any  thing  that  the  world  admired  or  valued.  It  would 
only  have  weakened  and  frustrated  the  wonderful  power  of  the  cross 
(as*  St.  Paul  says)  to  ground  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  upon  natural 
means.  It  was  necessary  that  vyithout  human  help,  the  gospel 
should  of  itself  open  people's  hearts ;  and  by  that  prodigious  effica- 
cy show  mankind  that  it  came  from  God.  Thus  was  human  wis- 
dom confounded  and  rejected.  Now  what  must  we  conclude  from 
hence?  This  only;  that  the  conversion  of  the  nations,  and  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  Christian  Church,  was  not  owing  to  the  learned 
reasonings,  and  persuasive  words  of  man's  wisdom.  It  does  not 
imply  that  there  was  no  eloquence  nor  wisdom  in  several  of  those 
who  first  preached  the  gospel ;  but  only,  that  they  did  not  depend 
on  this  eloquent  wisdom  ;  nor  did  they  study  it  as  a  thing  that  was  to 
give  an  efficacy  to  their  doctrine.  It  was  founded  (as  the  apostle 
tells  ust)  not  upon  the  persuasive  discourses  of  human  philosophy  ; 
but  solely  upon  the  effijcts  of  the  Spirit  and  the  power  of  God  ;  that 
is,  upon  the  miracles  that  struck  the  eyes  and  minds  of  men,  and 
upon  the  inward  operation  of  the  divine  grace. 

C.  According  to  your  reasoning,  then,  they  make  void  the  effi- 
cacy of  our  Saviour's  cross,  who  ground  their  preaching  upon  hu- 
man wisdom  and  eloquence. 

A.  Undoubtedly.  The  ministry  of  the  word  is  entirely  built 
upon  faith  ;  and  the  preachers  of  it  ought  to  pray  and  purify  their 
hearts,  and  expect  all  their  success  from  heaven.  They  should  arm 
themselves  with  *  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  word  of  God  ;' 
and  not  depend  on  their  own  abilities.  This  is  the  necessary  prep- 
aration for  preaching  the  gospel.  But  though  the  inward  fruit  and 
success  of  it  must  be  ascribed  to  grace  alone,  and  the  efficacy  of 
God's  word,  there  are  yet  some  things  that  man  is  to  do  on  his 
part. 

*lCor.  i.  17. 

1  Cor.  ii.  4. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  79 

C.     Hitherto  you  have  talked  very  solidly  :  but  I  see  plainly  you 
are  now  returning  to  your  first  opinion. 

A.     I  did  not  change  it.     Do  not   you  believe  that  the  work  of 
our  salvation  depends  upon  God's  grace  ? 

C.     Yes  :  it  is  an  article  of  faith. 

A.     You  own,  however,  that   we  ought   to  use   great  prudence 
in  choosins:   a  right  station  and  conduct   in  life,    and    in  avoidinor 
dangerous  temptations.     Now  do  we  make  void  the  grace  of  God, 
and  its  efficacy,   by  watching  and  prayer,  and  a  prudent  circum- 
spection ?    Certainly  not.     We  owe  all  to  God,  and  yet  he  obliges 
us  to  comply  with  an  external  order  of  human  means.     The  apos- 
tles did  not  study   the  vain  pomp  and  trifling  ornaments  of  the 
heathen  orators.     They  did  not  fall  into  the  subtile  reasonings  of 
the  philosophers,  who  made  all  to  depend  upon  those  airy  specula- 
tions in  which  they  lost  themselves.     The  apostles  only  preached 
Jesus  Christ  with  all  the  force  and  magnificent  simplicity  of  the 
scripture  language.     It  is  true  they  had  no  need  of  any  preparation 
for  their  ministry  ;    because  the  Spirit,  who  descended  upon  them 
in  a  sensible  manner,  supplied  them  with  words  in  preaching  the 
gospel.     The  difference  then  betwixt  the  apostles  and  their  suc- 
cessors in  the  ministry,  is,  that  these,  not  being  miraculously  in- 
spired like  the  apostles,  have  need   to  prepare  themselves,  and  to 
fill  their  minds  with  the  doctrine  and  spirit  of  the  scripture,  to  form 
their  discourses.     But  this  preparation  should  never  lead  them  to 
preach  in  a  more  artless  manner  than  the  apostles.      Would  you 
not  be  satisfied  if  preachers  used  no  more  ornaments  in  their  ser- 
mons than  St.  Peter,  St.  Paul,  St.  James,  St.  Jude,  and  St.  John 
did  ? 

C.  I  think  I  ought  to  require  no  more.  And  I  must  confess 
that  since  (as  you  say)  eloquence  consists  chiefly  in  the  order,  force, 
and  propriety  of  the  words  by  which  men  are  persuaded  and  moved, 
it  does  not  give  me  so  much  offence  as  it  did.  I  always  reckon- 
ed eloquence  to  be  an  art  that  is  inconsistent  with  the  simplicity  of 
the  gospel. 

A.  There  are  two  sorts  of  people  that  have  this  notion  of  it  ; 
the  false  orators,  who  are  widely  mistaken  in  seeking  after  elo- 
quence amidst  a  vain  pomp  of  words  ;  and  some  pious  persons  who 
have  no  great  depth  of  knowledge ;  but  though  out  of  humility  they 
avoid  that  false  rhetoric  which  consists  in  a  gaudy,  ostentatious 
36 


so  FENELON'S  DIALOGUES 

style,  they  yet  aim  at  true  eloquence,  by  striving   to  persuade,  and 
move  their  hearers. 

C,     I  now  understand  your  notions  exactly  well  :  let  us  now  re- 
turn to  the  eloquence  of  the  scripture. 

A.     In  order  to  perceive  it,  nothing  is  more  useful  than  to  have 
a  just  taste  of  ancient  simplicity,  and  this  may  best  be  obtained  by 
reading  the  most*^"  ancient  Greek  authors.     1  say  the  most  ancient, 
for  those  Greeks  whom  the  Romans  so  justly  despised,  and  called 
Graiculi,  were  then  entirely  degenerate.     As  I  told  you  before,  you 
ought   to  be  perfectly  acquainted  with  Homer,  Plato,   Xenophon, 
and  the  other  earliest  writers.     After  that,  you  will  be  no  more  sur- 
prised at  the  plainness  of  the  scripture  style,  for  in  them  you  will 
find  almost  the  same  kind  of  customs,  the  same  artless  narrations, 
the  same   images  of  great  things,  and  the  same  movements.     The 
difference  betwixt  them  upon  comparison  is  much  to  the  honour  of 
the  scripture.     It  surpasses  them  vastly  in  native  simplicity,  liveli- 
ness, and  grandeur.     Homer  himself  never   reached  the  sublimity 
of  Moses'  songs ;  especially  the  last,  which  all  the  Israelitish  chil- 
dren were  to  learn  by  heart.     Never  did  any  ode,  either  Greeks  or 
Latin,  come  up  to  the   loftiness  of  the   Psalms,  particularly  that 
which  begins  thus  :t  *  The  mighty  God,  even  the  Lord  hath  spok- 
en,' surpasses  the  utmost   stretch  of  human   invention.     Neither 
Homer   nor    any  other  poet  ever  equalled^  Isaiah  describing  the 
majesty  of  God,  in  whose  sight  the  *  nations  of  the  earth  are  as  the 
small  dust;    yea,  less  than  nothing  and  vanity;'   seeing  it  is  '  He 
that  stretcheth  out  the  heavens  like  a  curtain,  and  spreadeth  them 
out  as  a  tent  to   dwell  in.'      Sometimes   this  prophet  has  all  the 
sweetness  of  an  eclogue,  in  the  smiling  images  he  gives  us  of  peace, 
and  sometimes  he  soars  so  high  as  to  leave  every  thing  below  him. 
What  is  there  in  antiquity  that  can  be  compared  to  the   Lamenta- 
tions of  Jeremiah  when  he   tenderly  deplores   the  miseries  of  his 
country  ?  Or  to  the  prophecy  of  Nahum  when  he  foresees  in  spirit 
the  proud  Nineveh  fall  under  the  rage  of  an  invincible  army.     We 
fancy  that  we  see  the  army,  and   hear  the  noise  of  arms  and  chari- 

*  Ey^etfcvvreci  ^'  tifuv  ircg  o  uvk^  (ITAATHN)  «  finXoifAi^cx,  f^ii 
Kdroy^iya^vto-xi,  ox;  ku}  ccXXvi  ng  ttcc^u  ru.  ei^-nfAivoc  oobg  itt]  to,  v-^/r^Xec.  reivet. 
^o/(56  ol  Koci  rig  eclrYi  i  «  reov  ifiTr^oa-^tv  ^lyd'hav  (rvyf^u(P(A)v  ku}  TTcinrai 
fitf^n(rtg  T£  KX(  ^yiXiti(rig.  Kott  ram  yg,  (piXroili^  ci7r^t%  l^afuSu  rS  ckotth. 

Longinus,  §.  xiii. 
t  Psal.  1.  1— C.  \  Isa.  xl.  9—28. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  81 

ots.  Every  thing  is  painted  in  such  a  lively  manner  as  strikes  the 
imagination.  The  prophet  far  outdoes  Homer.  Read  likewise 
Daniel  denouncing  to  Belshazzar  the  divine  vengeance  ready  to 
overwhelm  him  :  and  try  if  you  can  find  any  thing  in  the  most  sub- 
lime originals  of  antiquity  that  can  be  compared  to  those  passages 
of  sacred  writ.  As  for  the  rest  of  scripture,  every  portion  of  it  is 
uniform  and  consistent,  every  part  bears  the  peculiar  character  that 
becomes  it.  The  history,  the  particular  detail  of  laws,  the  descrip- 
tions, the  vehement  and  pathetic  passages,  the  mysteries,  and  pro- 
phecies, and  moral  discourses  ;  in  all  these  there  appears  a  natural 
and  beautiful  variety.  In  short,  there  is  as  great  a  difference  be- 
twixt the  heathen  poets  and  the  prophets,  as  there  is  betwixt  a 
false  enthusiasm,  and  the  true.  The  sacred  writers,  being  truly 
inspired,  do  in  a  sensible  manner  express  something  divine  ;  while 
the  others,  striving  to  soar  above  themselves,  always  show  human 
weakness  in  their  loftiest  flights.  The  second  book  of  Maccabees, 
the  book  of  Wisdom,  especially  at  the  end  ;  and  Ecclesiasticus  in 
the  beginning,  discover  the  gaudy,  swelling  style  that  the  degener- 
ate Greeks  had  spread  over  the  east,  where  there  language  was  es- 
tablished with  their  dominion.  But  it  would  be  in  vain  to  enlarge 
upon  all  these  particulars  ;  it  is  by  reading  that  you  must  discover 
the  truth  of  them. 

B.  I  long  to  set  about  it :  we  ought  to  apply  ourselves  to  this 
kind  of  study,  more  than  we  do. 

C.  I  easily  conceive  that  the  Old  Testament  is  written  with  that 
magnificence,  and  those  lively  images  you  speak  of.  But  you  say 
nothing  of  the  simplicity  of  Christ's  words. 

A.  That  simplicity  of  style  is  entirely  according  to  the  ancient 
taste.  It  is  agreeable  both  to  Moses  and  the  prophets,  whose  ex- 
pressions Christ  often  uses.  But  though  his  language  be  plain  and 
familiar,  it  is,  however,  figurative  and  sublime  in  many  places.  I 
could  easily  show  by  particular  instances,  (if  we  had  the  books  here 
to  consult,)  that  we  have  not  a  preacher  of  this  age  who  is  so  figur- 
ative in  his  most  studied  sermons,  as  Jesus  Christ  was  in  his  most 
popular  discourses.  I  do  not  mean  those  that  St.  John  relates, 
where  almost  every  thing  is  sensibly  divine  ;  I  speak  of  his  most 
familiar  discourses  recorded  by  the  other  evangelists.  The  apos- 
tles wrote  in  the  same  manner,  with  this  difference  ;  that  Jesus 
Christ- beinff  master  of  his  doctrine,  delivers  it  calmly.  He  says 
just  what  he  pleases  ;  and  speaks,  with  the  utmost  easiness,  of  the 


83  FENELON'S  DIALOGUES 

heavenly  kingdom  and  glory,  as  of  his*  father's  house.  All  those 
exalted  things  that  astonish  us,  were  natural  and  familiar  to  him  • 
he  is  born  there,  and  only  telJs  us  what  het  saw,  as  he  himself  de- 
clares. On  the  contrary,  the  apostlesj  sunk  under  the  weight  of 
the  truths  that  were  revealed  to  them ;  they  want  words,  and  are 
not  able  to  express  their  ideas.  Hence  flow  those  digressions  and 
obscure  passages  in  St.  Paul's  writings,  and  those  transpositions  of 
his  thoughts,  which  show  his  mind  was  transported  with  the  abun- 
dance and  greatness  of  the  truths  that  offered  themselves  to  his  at- 
tention. All  this  irregularity  of  style  shows  that  the  Spirit  of  God 
forcibly  guided  the  minds  of  the  apostles.  But  notwithstanding 
these  little  disorders  of  their  style,  every  thing  in  it  is  noble,  lively, 
and  moving.  As  for  St.  John's  Revelation,  we  find  in  it  the  same 
grandeur  and  enthusiasm  that  there  is  in  the  prophets.  The  ex- 
pressions are  oftlimes  the  same,  and  sometimes  this  resemblance  of 
style  gives  a  mutual  light  to  them  both.  You  see  therefore  that  the 
eloquence  of  scripture  is  not  confined  to  the  books  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, but  is  likewise  to  be  found  in  the  New. 

O.  Supposing  the  scripture  to  be  eloquent,  what  will  you  con- 
clude from  it  ? 

A.  That  those  who  preach  it,  may,  without  scruple,  imitate,  or 
rather,  borrow,  its  eloquence. 

C.  We  find  that  preachers  do  choose  those  passages  they  think 
most  beautiful. 

A.  But  it  mangles  the  scripture  thus  to  show  it  to  Christians 
only  in  separate  passages.  And  however  great  the  beauty  of  such 
passages  may  be,  it  can  never  be  fully  perceived  unless  one  knows 
the  connexion  of  them  ;  for  every  thing  in  scripture  is  connected  : 
and  this  coherence  is  the  most  great  and  wonderful  thing  to  be 
seen  in  the  sacred  writings.  For  want  of  a  due  knowledge  of  it, 
preachers  mistake  those  beautiful  passages,  and  put  upon  them 
what  sense  they  please.  They  content  themselves  with  some  inge- 
nious interpretations;  which,  being  arbitrary,  have  no  force  to  per- 
suade men,  and  to  reform  their  manners. 

B.  What  would  you  have  preachers  to  do  ?  Must  they  use  on- 
ly the  language  of  scripture  ? 

A.  I  would  have  them  at  least  not  think  it  enough  to  join  to- 
gether a  few  passages  of  scripture  that  have  no  real  connexion.     I 

*  John  xiv.  2.  i  Ch.  viii.  38.  t  2  Cor.  xl'ti  2,  4,  7. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  83 

would  have  them  explain  the  principles,  and  the  series  of  the  scrip- 
ture doctrine  ;  and  take  the  spirit,  the  style,  and  the  figures  of  it ; 
that  all  their  discourses  may  serve  to  give  people  a  right  understand- 
ing, and  true  relish  of  God's  word.  There  needs  no  more  to  make 
preachers  eloquent ;  for  by  doing  this,  they  would  imitate  the  best 
model  of  ancient  eloquence. 

B.  But  in  this  case  we  behooved  (as  I  said  before)  to  explain  the 
several  parts  of  scripture  as  they  lie. 

A.  I  would  not  confine  all  preachers  to  this.  One  might  make 
sermons  upon  the  scripture  without  explaining  the  several  parts  of 
it  as  they  lie.  But  it  must  be  owned,  that  preaching  would  be 
quite  another  thing,  if,  according  to  ancient  custom,  the  sacred 
books  were  thus  explained  to  the  people  in  a  connected,  judicious 
manner.  Consider  what  authority  a  man  must  have  who  should 
say  nothing  from  his  own  invention  ;  but  only  follow  and  explain  the 
thoughts  and  words  of  God.  Besides,  he  would  do  two  things  at 
once.  By  unfolding  the  truths  of  scripture,  he  would  explain  the 
text,  and  accustom  the  people  to  join  always  the  sense  and  the  let- 
ter together.  What  advantage  must  they  not  reap  if  they  were  used 
to  nourish  themselves  with  this  spiritual  bread  ?  An  audience  who 
had  heard  the  chief  points  of  the  Mosaic  law  explained,  would  be 
able  to  receive  far  more  benefit  from  an  explication  of  the  truths  of 
the  gospel,  than  the  greatest  part  of  Christians  are  now.  The  preach- 
er we  spoke  of  before,  has  this  failing  among  many  great  qualities, 
that  his  sermons  are  trains  of  fine  reasoning  about  religion,  but  they 
are  not  religion  itself.  We  apply  ourselves  too  much  to  drawing  of 
moral  characters,  and  inveighing  against  the  general  disorders  of 
mankind  ;  and  we  do  not  sufficiently  explain  the  principles  and 
precepts  of  the  gospel. 

C.  Preachers  choose  this  way  because  it  is  far  easier  to  declaim 
against  the  follies  and  disorders  of  mankind,  than  to  explain  the 
fundamental  truths  and  duties  of  religion  judiciously.  To  be  able 
to  describe  the  corruptions  of  the  age,  they  need  only  have  some 
knowledge  of  men  and  things,  and  proper  words  to  paint  them.  But 
to  set  the  great  duties  of  the  gospel  in  a  just  light,  requires  an  at- 
tentive meditation  and  study  of  the  holy  scriptures.  There  are  but 
few  preachers  who  have  such  a  solid,  comprehensive  knowledge  of 
religion  as  can  enable  them  to  explain  it  clearly  to  others.  Nay, 
there  are  some  who  make  pretty  discourses,  and  yet  could  not  cat- 
echise the  people,  and  far  less  make  a  good  homily. 


84  FENELON'S   DIALOGUES 

A.  Very  true  ;  it  is  here  that  our  preachers  are  most  defective. 
Most  of  their  fine  sermons  contain  only  philosophical  reasonings. 
Sometimes  they  preposterously  quote  scripture  only  for  the  sake  of 
decency  or  ornament :  and  it  is  not  then  regarded  as  the  word  of 
God,  but  as  the  invention  of  men. 

C.  You  will  grant,  1  hope,  that  the  labours  of  such  men  tend  to 
make  void  the  cross  of  Christ. 

A.     I  give   them   up  ;    and  contend   only   for   the  eloquence  of 
scripture   which  evangelical   preachers  ought  to  imitate.     So  that 
we  are  agreed  on  this  point :    provided   you  will   not  excuse  some 
zealous  preachers,  who,  under  pretence  of  apostolical  simplicity,  do 
not  effectually  study  either  the  doctrine  of  scripture  or  the  power- 
ful manner  of  persuasion  that  wo  are  taught  there.     They  imagine 
that  they  need  only  bawl,  and  speak  often  of  hell  and  the  devil.  Now 
without  doubt  a  preacher  ought  to  affect   people  by  strong,  and 
sometimes  even  by  terrible  images  ;  but  it  is   from  the  scripture 
that  he  should  learn  to  make  powerful  impressions.     There  he  may 
clearly  discover  the  way  to  make  sermons  plain  and  popular,  with- 
out losing  the  force  and  dignity  they  ought  always  to  have.     For 
want  of  this  knowledge   a  preacher   oftentimes   doth  but  stun  and 
frighten  people,  so  that  they  remember  but  few  clear  notions ;  and 
even  the  impressions  of  terror  they  received,  are  not  lasting.     This 
mistaken  simplicity  that  some  affect,  is  too  often  a  cloak  for  igno- 
rance ;  and  at  best  it  is  such  an  unedifying  manner  of  address,  as 
cannot  be  acceptable  either  to  God  or  men.     Nothing  can  excuse 
such  homely  preachers,  but  the  sincerity  of  their  intentions.    They 
ought  to  have  studied  and  meditated   much  upon  the  word  of  God, 
before  they  undertook  to  preach.     A  priest  who  understands  the 
scripture  fully,  and  has  the  gift  of  speaking,  supported  by  the  au- 
thority of  his  function,  and  of  a  good  life,  might  make   excellent 
discourses  without  great  preparation.       For  one  speaks  easily  of 
such  truths  as  make  a  clear  and  strong  impression  on  his  mind. 
Now  above  all  things,  such  a  subject  as  religion  must  furnish  ex- 
alted thoughts,   and  excite  the   noblest  sentiments ;  and  this  is  the 
design  of  eloquence.     But  a  preacher  ought  to  speak  to  his  audi- 
ence as  a  father  would  talk   to  his  children,  with  an  affectionate 
tenderness  :    and  not  like  a  declaimer,  pronouncing  an  harangue 
with  stiffness,  and  an  affected  delicacy.     It  were  to   be  wished  in- 
deed that,  generally  speaking,  none  were  allowed  to  feed  the  Chris- 
tian flocks  but  their  respective  shepherds,  who  ought  best  to  know 
their  wants.     In  order  to  this,  none  should  be  chosen  for  pastors, 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  85 

but  such  as  have  the  gift  of  preaching.  The  neglect  of  this  occa- 
sions two  evils  :  one  is,  that  dumb  pastors,  and  such  as  speak  with- 
out abilities,  are  little  esteemed.  Another  evil  is,  that  the  function 
of  voluntary  preachers  allures  many  vain  ambitious  spirits,  that  en- 
deavour to  distinguish  themselves  this  way.  You  know  that  in 
former  ages  the  ministry  of  the  word  was  reserved  for  the  bishops  ; 
especially  in  the  western  church.  You  must  have  heard  of  St. 
Austin's  case  ;  that,  contrary  to  the  established  rule,  he  was  obliged 
to  preach  while  he  was  only  a  presbyter  ;  because  that  Valerius,  his 
bishop  and  predecessor,  was  a  stranger  who  could  not  talk  easily: 
this  was  the  beginning  of  that  custom  in  the  western  parts.  In  the 
east,  priests  sooner  began  to  preach,  as  appears  from  St.  Chrysos- 
tom's  sermons,  which  he  made  at  Antioch,  when  he  was  only  a 
presbyter. 

C.     1  grant  that  generally  speaking  the  office  of  preaching  should 
be  reserved  for  the  parochial  clergy.     This  would  be  the  way  to  rC' 
store  to  the  pulpit  that  simplicity  and  dignity  that  ought  to  adorn 
it.     For  if  pastors  joined  the  knowledge  of  the  scriptures  to  their 
experience  in  the  ministerial  function,  and   the  conduct  of  souls, 
they  would  speak  in  such  a  way  as  is  best  adapted  to  the  wants  of 
their  flocks.       Whereas  those  preachers   who  give  up  themselves 
chiefly  to  study  and  speculation,  are  less  able  to  obviate  people's 
prejudices  and  mistakes;  they  do  not  suit  their  discourses  to  vulgar 
capacities ;  and  insist  chiefly  on  such  general   points  as  do  not  in- 
struct nor  affect  men  ;    to  say  nothing  of  the  weight  and  influence 
that  the   shepherd's  own  voice  must  have  among  his  flock  above  a 
stranger's.     These,  methinks,  are  convincing  reasons  for  prefer- 
ring a  pastor's  sermons  before  other  people's.     Of  what  use  are  so 
many  young  preachers,  without  experience,  without  knowledge,  and 
without  piety  1  It  were  better  to  have  fewer  sermons,  and  more  judi- 
cious ones. 

B.  But  there  are  many  priests  who  are  not  pastors,  and  who 
preach  with  great  success.  How  many  persons  are  there  of  the 
religious  orders,  who  fill  the  pulpit  to  advantage  ! 

C,  I  own  there  are  many  :  and  such  men  ought  to  be  made 
pastors  of  parishes,  and  even  be  constrained  to  undertake  the  care 
of  souls.  Were  not  anchorets  of  old  forced  from  their  beloved  sol- 
itude, and  raised  to  public  stations,  that  the  light  of  their  piety 
might  shine  in  the  church  and  edify  the  faithful  1 

A.  But  it  does  not  belong  to  us  to  regulate  the  discipline  of  the 
church.     Every  age  has  its  proper  customs,  as  the  circumstances 


86  FENELON'S   DIALOGUES 

of  things  require.  Let  us  show  a  regard  to  whatever  the  church 
tolerates  ;  and  without  indulging  a  censorious  humour,  let  us  finish 
our  character  of  a  worthy  preacher. 

C.  What  you  have  said  already  gives  me,  I  think,  an  exact  idea 
of  it. 

A.  Let  us  hear  then  what  you  reckon  necessary  to  make  a  com- 
plete preacher. 

C,  I  think  that  he  ought  to  have  studied  solidly,  during  his 
younger  days,  whatever  is  most  useful  in  the  poetry  and  eloquence 
of  the  ancients.* 

A.     That  is  not  necessary.     It  is  true  when  one  has  finished 
such  studies  successfully,  they  may  be  of  use  to  him,  even  towards 
a  right  understanding  of  the  scriptures,  as  St.  Paul  has  shown  in  a 
treatise  he  composed  on  this  very  subject.     But  after  all,  this  sort 
of  study  is  rather  useful  than  necessary.     In   the   first  ages  of  the 
church,  the  clergy  found  a  want  of  this  kind  of  learning.     Those 
indeed  who  had  applied  themselves  to  it  in  their  youth,  turned  it  to 
the  service   of  religion,  when  they  became  pastors;    but  such  as 
had  neglected  these  studies  before,   were  not  permitted  to  follow 
them,  when  they  had  once  engaged  themselves  in  the  study  of  the 
sacred  writings,  which  were  then  reckoned  to  be  sufficient.  Hence 
came  that  passage  in  thet  apostolical  constitutions,  which  exhorts 
Christians  not  to  read  the  heathen   authors.     *  If  you  want  history 
(says  the  book,)  or  laws,  or  moral  precepts,  or  eloquence,  or  poetry, 
you  will  find  them  all  in  the  scriptures.'     In  effect  we  have  already 
seen    that  it    is  needless    to   seek   elsewhere   for  any  thing  that  is 
necessary   to  form  our  taste   and  judgment  of  true  eloquence.    St. 
Austin  says  that  the  smaller  stock  we  have  of  other  learning,  we 
ought  so  much  the  more  to  enrich  ourselves  out  of  that  sacred  trea- 
sure ;  and  that  seeing  our  notions  are  too  scanty  to  express  divine 
things  in  a  proper  way,  we  have  need  to  exalt  and  improve  our 
knowledge,  by  the  authority  of  Scripture  ;    and  our  language,  by 
the  dignity  of  its  expressions.     But  1  ask  your  pardon  for  interrupt- 
ing you.     Go  on.  Sir,  if  you  please. 

C.     Well  then  ;  let  us  be  content  with  the  sufficiency  of  Scrip- 
ture.    But  shall  we  not  add  the  fathers  1 

*  The  Greek  znA  Roman  authors  have  a  spirit  in  them,  a  force,  both  of  thought 
and  expression,  that  latter  ages  have  not  been  able  to  imitate,  Buchanan  only 
excepted  ;  in  whom,  more  particularly  in  his  Psalms,  there  is  a  beauty,  and 
life,  an  exactness,  as  well  as  liberty,  that  cannot  be  imitated,  and  scarce  enough 
commended.  Discourse  of  the  Pastoral  Care.    Ch.  viii. 

tB.i.  c.  6. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  87 

A.  Without  doubt :  they  are  the  channels  of  tradition.  It  is 
by  their  writings  that  we  learn  the  manner  in  which  the  church  in- 
terpreted the  Scripture  in  all  ages. 

C.  But  are  preachers  obliged  to  explain  every  passage  of  Scrip- 
nre  according  to  the  interpretations  that  the  fiithei  shave  given  us? 
We  find  that  one  father  gives  a  spiritual  or  mystical  sense ;  and 
another  gives  a  lite/al  one.  Now  which  must  we  choose  1  For 
there  would  be  no  end  of  mentioning  them  all. 

ji.  When  I  affirm  that  we  ought  to  interpret  the  Scripture  ac- 
cording to  the  doctrine  ot  the  fathers,  I  mean,  their  constant  and 
uniform  doctrine.  They  frequently  gave  pious  interpretations  that 
differed  very  much  from  the  literal  sense;  and  were  not  founded 
on  the  prophetical  allusions,  and  the  mysterious  doctrines  of  reli- 
gion. Now  seeing  these  interpretations  are  arbitrary,  we  are  not 
obliged  to  follow  them  ;  '  seeing  they  did  not  follow  one  another.' 
But  in  those  places  where  they  explain  the  sentiments  of  the  church 
concerning  points  of  faith  or  practice,  it  is  not  allowable  to  explain 
the  Scripture  in  a  sense  contrary  to  the  doctrine  of  the  fathers. 
This  is  the  authority  that  we  ought  to  ascribe  to  them. 

C.  This  seems  clear  enough.  I  would  therefore  have  a  clergy- 
man (before  he  begin  to  preach)  be  thoroughly  acquainted  with 
the  doctrine  of  the  fathers,  that  he  may  follow  it.  I  would  even 
have  him  study  the  principles  they  laid  down  for  their  conduct, 
their  rules  of  moderation,  and  their  metliod  of  instruction. 

A.  Right;  they  are  our  masters.  They  had  an  exalted  genius  ; 
they  had  great  and  pious  souls,  full  of  heroical  sentiments.  They 
had  a  singular  knowledge  of  the  tempers  and  manners  of  men,  and 
acquired  a  great  repute;  and  a  very  easy  way  of  preaching.  We 
even  find  that  many  of  them  were  very  polite,  and  knew  whatever 
is  decent,  either  in  writing  or  speaking  in  public;  and  what  is 
handsome  both  in  familiar  conversation,  and  in  discharging  the 
common  duties  of  life.  Doubtless  all  this  must  have  conduced  to 
render  them  eloquent,  and  fit  to  gain  upon  people's  minds.  Ac- 
cordingly we  find  in  their  writings  a  politeness  not  only  of  language 
but  of  sentiments  and  manners,  which  is  not  to  be  seen  in  the 
writers  of  the  following  ages.  This  just  taste  and  discernment, 
(which  agrees  perfectly  well  with  simplicity,  and  rendered  their 
persons  acceptable,  and  their  behaviour  engaging)  was  highly  ser. 
viceable  to  religion.     And  in  this   point   we   can    scarcely  imitate 

39 


•88  FENELOiN'S   DIALOGUES 

them  enough.  So   that  after  the  Scriptures,    the  knowledge  of  the 
fathers  will  help  a  preacher  to  compose  good  sermons. 

C.      When  one  has  laid  such  a  solid  loundation,  and  edified  the 
church  by  liis  exemplary  virtues,  he    would  then  be  fit  to  explain 
the  gospel  with   great  authority   and  good  effect.     For  by  familiar 
instructions  and    useful  conferences,  (to  which  we  suppose  him  to 
have  been  accustomed  betimes,)  he  must  have  attained  a  sufficient 
freedom  and  easiness  of  speaking.     Now  if  such  pastors  applied 
themselves  to  all  the  particular  duties  of  their  function,  as  adminis- 
tering the  sacraments,  directing  pious  souls,  and  comforting  afflict- 
ed, or  dying  persons,  it   is  certain   they  could  not  have  much  time 
to  make  elaborate  sermons,  and  learn   them  word  for  word.     *  The 
mouth  behooved  to  speak  from  the  abundance  of  the  heart  ;'*  and 
communicate   to    the    people   the    fulness    of    gospel-knowledge, 
and  the  affecting  sentiments  of  the  preacher.     As  for  what  you  said 
yesterday,  about  getting  sermons  by  heart,    I  had   the  curiosity  to 
seek  out  a  passage   in   St.  Austin  that  I  had  read   before;  it  is  to 
.  this  purpose  :  '  He  thinks  that  a  preacher  ought  to  speak  in  a  more 
plain  and  sensible  manner  than  other  people ;  for,  seeing  custom 
and  decency  will  not  permit  his  hearers  to  ask  him  any  questions, 
he  should  be  afraid  of  not  adapting  his  discourse  to  their  capacity. 
Wherefore,  says  he,  they  who  get  their  sermons  by  heart,  word  for 
word,  and  so  cannot  repeat  and  explain  a  truth  till  they  see  that 
their  hearers  understand  it,  must  lose  one  great  end  and  benefit  of 
preaching.'     You  see  by  this,  Sir,  that  St.   Austin  only  prepared 
his  subject,  without  burdening  his  memory  with   all  the  words  of 
his  sermons.     Though  the    precepts  of  true  eloquence  should  re- 
quire more,  yet  the  rules  of  the  gospel  ministry  will  not  permit  us 
to  go  farther.     As  for  my  own  part,  I  have  been  long  of  your  opin- 
ion concerning  this  matter,  because  of  the  many  pressing  necessi- 
ties in  the  Christian  church,  that  require  a  pastor's  continual  ap- 
plication.    While  a  priest,  who  ought  to  be   'a  man  of  God,  thor- 
oughly furnished  unto  all  good  works, 't  should  be  diligent  in  root- 
ing cut  ignorance  and  offences  from  the  field  of  the  church  ;  I  think 
it  unworthy  of  him  to  waste    his  time  in   his  closet,  in  smoothing 
of  periods,  giving   delicate   touches  to   his    descriptions,    and  in- 
venting   quaint    divisions.      When  one  falls  into  the  method  and 
employment  of  these  pretty  preachers,   he  can  have  no  time  to  do 
any  thing  else,    he  applies  himself  to  no  other  business,  or  useful 

*Mat.  xii.34.  t  2  Tim.  iii.  17. 


k 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  89 

kind  of  study;  nay,  to  refresh  himself,  he  is  oftentimes  forced  to 
preach  the  same  sermons  over  and  over  again.  But  what  kind  of  el- 
oquence can  a  preacher  attend  to,  when  his  hearers  know  beforehand 
all  the  expressions  and  pathetic  figures  he  will  use  ?  This  is  a  likely 
way  indeed  to  surprise  and  astonish  ;  to  soften,  and  move,  and 
persuade  them  !  This  must  be  a  strange  manner  of  concealing  one's 
art,  and  of  letting  nature  speak.  To  tell  you  freely,  Sir,  this  gives 
me  great  offence.  What !  shall  a  dispenser  of  the  divine  mysteries 
be  an  idle  declaimer,  jealous  of  his  reputation,  and  fond  of  vain 
pomp  ?*  Shall  he  not  dare  to  speak  of  God  to  his  people,  without 
having  ranged  all  his  words,  and  learned  his  lesson  by  heart  like  a 
school  boy  ? 

A.  1  am  very  much  pleased  with  your  zeal.  What  you  say  is 
true.  But  we  must  not,  however,  inveigh  against  this  abuse  with 
too  much  violence:  for  we  ought  to  show  a  regard  to  persons  of 
worth  and  piety,  who,  o-it  of  deference  to  custom,  or  being  prepos- 
sessed by  example,  have,  with  a  good  design,  fallen  into  the  method 
that  you  justly  censure.  But  I  am  ashamed  to  interrupt  you  so 
often.     Go  on,  I  beseech  you. 

C.  I  would  have  a  preacher  explain  the  whole  plan  of  religion, 
and  unfold  every  part  of  it,  in  the  most  intelligible  manner,  by 
showing  the  primitive  institution  of  things,  and  pointing  out  the  se- 
quel and  tradition  of  them ;  that  by  showing  the  origin  and  estab- 
lishment of  religion,  he  might  destroy  the  objections  of  unbelievers, 
without  offering  to  attack  them  openly ;  lest  he  should  thereby 
lay  a  stumbling  block  in  the  way  of  illiterate,  well  meaning  Chris- 
tians. 

A.  That  is  very  right.  The  best  way  of  proving  the  truth  of 
religion,  is  to  explain  it  justly  ;  for  it  carries  its  own  evidence  along 
with  it,  when  we  represent  it  in  its  native  purity.  All  other  proofs 
that  are  not  drawn  from  the  very  foundation  of  religion  itself,  and 
the  manner  of  its  propagation,  are  but  foreign  to  it.     Thus,  for  in- 

*  Sed  his  ornatus  (repetam  enim)  virilis,  fortis  et  sanctus  sit — non  debet 
quisquam  ubi  maxima  rerutn  momenta  versantur,  de  verbis  esse  solhcitus— 
prima  virtus  est  vitio  carere.  Igitur  ante  omnia,  ne  speremus  ornatarn  ora- 
tionein  fore,  quae  probabilis  non  erit.  Prohabile  autem,  Cicero  id  jrenas  dicit, 
quod  non  plus,  minusve  est  quam  decet.  Non  quia  comi  expolirique  non  de- 
beat;  nam  et  haec  ornatus  pars  est:  sed  quia  vitium  est,  ubique  quod  nimium 
est.  Itaque  vult  esse  autoritatera  et  pondus  in  verbis  :  sententias  vel  giaves, 
vel  aptas  opinionibus  honiinum  ac  moribus.  QuintiL  lih.  viii.  c.  3. 


90  FENELON'S   DIALOGUES 

stance,  the  best  proof  of  the  creation  of  the  world,  of  the  deluge, 
and  the  miracles  of  Moses,  may  be  drawn  from  the  nature  of  those 
miracles;  and  the  artless,  impartial  manner  in  which  the  Mosaic 
history  is  written.  A  wise,  unprejudiced  person  needs  only  to 
read  it,  to  be  fully  convinced  of  i*.s  truth. 

C.  I  would  likewise  have  a  preacher  assiduously  explain  to  the 
people  in  a  connected  train  not  only  all  the  particular  precepts  and 
mysteries  of  the  gospel ;  but  likewise  the  origin  and  institution  of 
the  sacraments ;  the  traditions,  discipline,  the  liturgy,  and  ceremonies 
of  the  church.  By  these  instructions  he  would  guard  the  faithful 
against  the  objections  of  heretics,  and  enable  them  to  give  an  ac- 
count of  their  faith,  and  even  to  affect  such  heretics  as  are  not  ob- 
stinate ;  he  would  strengthen  people's  faith,  give  them  an  exalted 
notion  of  religion,  and  make  them  receive  some  edification  and 
benefit  from  what  they  see  in  the  church.  Whereas  with  the  su- 
perficial instruction  that  is  generally  given  them  at  present,  they 
comprehend  little  or  nothing  of  what  they  see,  and  have  but  a  very 
confused  idea  of  what  they  hear  from  the  preacher.  It  is  chiefly 
for  the  sake  of  this  connected  scheme  of  instruction  that  I  would 
have  fixed  persons,  such  as  pastoirs,  to  preach  in  every  parish.  I 
have  often  observed  that  there  is  no  art,  nor  science,  that  is  not 
taught  coherently  by  principles  and  method,  in  a  connected  train 
of  instructions.  Religion  is  the  only  thing  that  is  not  taught  thus 
to  Christians.  In  their  childhood  they  have  a  little,  dry  catechism 
put  into  their  hands,  which  they  learn  by  rote,  without  understand- 
ing the  sense  of  it.  And  after  that,  they  have  no  other  instruction  but 
what  they  can  gather  from  sermons  upon  unconnected  general  sub- 
jects. I  would,  therefore,  (as  you  said)  have  preachers  teach  peo- 
ple the  first  principles  of  their  religion  ;  and,  by  a  due  method,  lead 
them  on  to  the  highest  mysteries  of  it. 

A.  That  was  the  ancient  way.  They  began  with  catechizing: 
after  which,  pastors  taught  their  people  the  several  doctrines  of  the 
gospel,  in  a  connected  train  of  homilies.  This  instructed  Chris- 
tians fully  in  the  word  of  God :  you  know  St.  Austin's  book,  of 
*  catechizing  the  ignorant ;'  and  St.  Clement's  tract,  which  he 
composed  to  show  the  heathen  whom  he  converted  what  were  the 
doctrines  and  manners  of  the  Christian  philosophy.  In  those  days 
the  greatest  men  were  employed  in  these  catechetical  instructions  ; 
and  accordingly  they  produced  such  wonderful  effects,  as  seem 
ijuite  incredible  to  us, 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  91 

C,  In  fine,  I  would  have  every  preacher  make  such  sermons  as 
should  not  be  too  troublesome  to  him,  that  so  he  might  be  able  to 
preach  often.  They  ought  therefore  to  be  short  :  that  without  fa- 
tiguing himself  or  wearying  the  people,  he  might  preach  every  Sun- 
day, after  the  gospel.  As  far  as  we  can  judge,  those  aged  bishops 
who  lived  in  former  times  and  had  constant  labours  to  employ  them, 
did  not  make  such  a  stir  as  our  modern  preachers  do  in  talking  to 
the  people  in  the  midst  of  divine  service;  which  the  bishops  them- 
selves read  solemnly  every  Lord's  day.*  A  preacher  now-a-days 
gets  little  credit  unless  he  comes  out  of  the  pulpit  sweating  and 
breathless,  and  unable  to  do  any  thing  the  rest  of  the  day.  The 
bishop's  upper  vestment  (which  was  not  then  opened  at  the  shoul- 
ders as  it  is  now,  but  hung  equally  down  on  all  sides,)  probably 
hindered  him  from  moving  his  arms,  as  some  preachers  do.  So 
that  as  their  sermons  were  short,  so  their  action  must  have  been 
grave  and  moderate.  Now,  Sir,  is  not  all  this  agreeable  to  your 
principles  ?  Is  not  this  the  idea  you  gave  us  of  good  preaching? 

A.  It  is  not  mine  :  it  is  the  cuirent  notion  of  all  antiquity.  The 
farther  I  inquire  into  this  matter,  the  more  I  am  convinced  that  the 
ancient  form  of  sermons  was  the  most  perfect.  The  primitive  pas- 
tors were  great  men  :  they  were  not  only  very  holy,  but  they  had  a 
complete,  clear  knowledge  of  religion,  and  of  the  best  way  to  per- 
suade men  of  its  truth  :  and  they  took  care  to  regulate  all  the  cir- 
cumstances of  it.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  wisdom  hidden  under 
this  air  of  simplicity  '.  and  we  ought  not  to  believe  that  a  better 
method  could  have  been  afterwards  found  out.  You  have  set 
this  whole  matter  in  the  best  light,  and  have  left  me  nothing  to  add  : 

*  A  clergyman  must  bring  his  mind  to  an  inward  and  feeling  sense  of  those 
things  that  are  prayed  for  in  our  offices :  this  will  make  him  pronounce  them 
with  an  equal  measure  of  gravity  and  affection;  and  with  a  due  slowness,  and 
emphasis.  I  do  not  love  the  theatrical  way  of  the  church  of  Rovie,  in  which 
it  is  a  great  study,  and  a  long  practice,  to  learn  in  every  one  of  their  offices, 
how  they  ought  to  compose  their  looks,  gesture,  and  voice  ;  yet  a  light  wan- 
dering of  the  eyes,  and  a  hasty  running  through  the  prayers,  are  things  high- 
ly unbecoming  :  they  very  much  lessen  the  majesty  of  our  worship;  and  give 
our  enemies  advantage  to  call  it  dead  and  formal;  when  they  see  plainly  that 
he  who  officiates,  is  dead  and  formal  in  it.  A  deep  sense  of  the  things  prayed 
for,  a  true  recollection  and  attention  of  spirit,  and  a  holy  earnestness  of  soul,  will 
give  a  composure  to  the  look,  and  a  weight  to  the  pronunciation,  that  will  be 
tempered  between  affectation  on  the  one  hand,  and  levity  on  the  other. 

Discourse  of  the  Pastoral  Care,  ch.  viil, 


92  FENELON'S  DIALOGUES 

indeed  you  have  explained  my  thoughts  better  than  I  should  have 
done  myself. 

B.  You  magnify  the  eloquence,  and  the  sermons  of  the  fathers 
mightily. 

A.     I  do  not  think  that  I  commend  them  too  much. 

H.  1  am  surprised  to  see,  that  after  you  have  been  so  severe 
against  those  orators  who  mix  turns  of  wit  with  their  discourses, 
you  should  be  so  indulgent  to  the  fathers,  whose  writings  are  full  of 
jingling  antitheses  and  quibbles,  entirely  contrary  to  all  your  rules- 
I  wish  you  would  be  consistent  with  yourself.  Pray,  Sir,  unfold 
all  this  to  us.     Particularly,  what  do  you  think  of  Tertullian  ? 

A.  There  are  many  excellent  things  in  him.  The  loftiness  of 
his  sentiments  is  ofltimes  admirable.  Besides,  he  should  be  read 
for  the  sake  of  some  principles  concerning  tradition,  some  historical 
facts,  and  the  discipline  of  his  time.  But  as  for  his  style,  I  do  not 
pretend  to  justify  it.  He  has  many  false  and  obscure  notions,  ma- 
ny harsh  and  perplexed  metaphors  :  and  the  generality  of  readers 
are  most  fond  of  his  faults.     He  has  spoiled  many  preachers.*  For 

*  One  of  the  greatest  and  most  remaikal)le  proofs  of  the  strong  influence  that 
some  imaginations  have  over  others,  is  the  power  that  some  others  have  to 
persuade,  without  any  proof.  For  example,  the  turn  of  words  that  we  find  in 
Tertullian,  Seneca,  Monfaigne,  and  some  other  authors,  has  so  many  charms, 
and  so  much  lustre,  that  they  dazzle  most  readers — their  words,  however  in- 
signiticant,  have  more  force  than  the  reasons  of  other  people.  I  protest  I  have  a 
great  value  for  some  of  TertuUian's  works  ;  and  chiefly  for  his  Apology  against 
the  Gentiles  ;  his  book  o{ prescriptions  against  heretics  ;  and  for  some  passages 
of  Seneca;  though  I  have  very  little  esteem  for  Montaigne.  Tertullian  was 
indeed  a  man  of  great  learning  :  bui  he  had  more  memory  than  judgment — the 
regard  he  showed  to  the  visions  of  Montanus,  and  his  prophetesses,  is  an  un- 
questionable proof  of  his  weak  judgment.  The  disorder  of  his  imagination  sen- 
sibly appears  in  the  heat,  the  transports,  and  enthusiastic  flights  he  falls  into, 
upon  trifling  subjects, — what  could  he  infer  from  his  pompous  descriptions  of 
the  changes  that  happen  in  the  world  .?  Or  how  could  they  justify  his  laying 
aside  his  usual  dress,  to  wear  the  philosophical  cloak  ?  The  moon  has  different 
phases ;  the  year  has  several  seasons  ;  the  fields  change  their  appearance  in 
summer  and  winter  ;  whole  provinces  are  drowned  by  inundations,  or  swallow- 
ed up  by  earthquakes — in  fine,  all  nature  is  subject  to  changes — therefore  he 
had  reason  to  wear  the  cloak  rather  than  the  common  robe ! — Nothing  can  ex- 
cuse the  silly  arguments  and  wild  fancies  of  this  author,  who,  in  several  others 
of  his  works,  as  well  as  in  that  de  Pallio,  says  every  thing  that  comes  into  his 
head,  if  it  be  a  far  fetched  conceit,  or  a  bold  expression,  by  which  he  hoped  to 
show  the  vigour,  (we  must  rather  call  it,  the  disorder)  of  his  imagination. 

Malebranche's  recherche  de  la  verite.     Liv.  ii.  p.  3.  c.  3. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  93 

the  desire  of  saying  something  that  is  singular  leads  them*to  study 
his  works:  and  his  uncommon  pompous  style  dazzles  them.  We 
must  therefore  beware  of  imitating  his  thoughts  or  expressions  ; 
and  only  pick  out  his  noble  sentiments,  and  the  knowledge  of  an- 
tiquity. 

B.     What  say  you  of  St.  Cyprian  ?     Is  not  his  style  too  swell- 
ing ? 

A.  I  think  it  is  :  and  it  could  scarcely  be  otherwise  in  his  age 
and  country.  But  though  his  language  has  a  tang  of  the  African 
roughness,  and  the  bombast  that  prevailed  in  his  days,  yet  there  is 
great  force  and  eloquence  in  it.  Every  where  we  see  a  great  soul 
who  expresseth  his  sentiments  in  a  very  noble,  moving  manner. 
In  some  places  of  his  works  we  find*  affected  ornaments,  especially 
in  his  epistle  to  Donatus ;  which  St.  Austin  quotes,  however,  as  a 
letter  full  of  eloquence.  He  says  that  God  permitted  those  strokes 
of  vain  oratory  to  fall  from  St.  Cyprian's  pen,  to  show  posterity  how 
much  the  spirit  of  Christian  simplicity  had,  in  his  following  works, 
retrenched  the  superfluous  ornaments  of  his  style,  and  reduced  it 
within  the  bounds  of  a  grave  and  modest  eloquence.  This  (says 
St.  Austin)  is  the  distinguishing  character  of  all  the  letters  that  St. 
Cyprian  wrote  afterwards,  which  we  may  safely  admire  and  imitate, 
as  being  written  according  to  the  severest  rules  of  religion  ;  though 
we  cannot  hope  to  come  up  to  them  without  a  great  application. 
In  fine,  though  his  letter  to  Donatus  (even  in  St.  Austin's  opinion) 
be  too  elaborately  adorned,  it  deserves,  however,  to  be  called  elo- 
quent. For  notwithstanding  its  many  rhetorical  embellishments, 
we  cannot  but  perceive  that  a  great  part  of  the  epistle  is  very  seri- 
ous and  lively,  and  most  proper  to  give  Donatus  a  noble  idea  of 
Christianity.  In  those  passages  where  he  is  very  earnest,  he  neg- 
lects all  turns  of  wit,  and  falls  into  a  sublime  and  vehement  strain. 

*  Locus  enim  cum  die  convenit ;  et  mulcendis  sensibus,  ac  fovendis,  ad  lenes 
auras  blandientis  aulutnni  hortoruin  facics  amoena  consentit.  Hie  jocundutn 
sernionibus  diem  ducere,  et  studentibus  fabuHs  in  divina  piaecepta  conscientiam 
pectoris  erudire.  Ac  ne  colloquium  nostrum  arbiter  profanus  impediat,  aut 
clamor  intemperans  familiae  strepentis  obtundat,  petamus  banc  sedem.  Dant 
secessum  vicina  secreta,  ubi  dum  erratici  palmitum  lapsus  nexibus  pendulis 
per  arundines  bajulas  ropunt,  viteam  porticura  frondea  tecta  fecerunt;  bene 
hie  studia  in  aures  damus  ;  et  dum  in  arbores,  et  in  vitas  quas  videmus,  oblec- 
tante  prospectu,  oculos  amoenamus,  animum  simul  et  auditus  instruit,  et  pascit 
obtutus.  Cyp^-  "^d  Donat.    Epist.  ii. 


94  FENELON'S  DIALOGUES 

B.  But  what  do  you  think  of  St.  Austin  ?  Is  he  not  the  most* 
jingling  quibbler  that  ever  wrote  ?  Will  you  defend  him  ? 

A.  No  :  I  cannot  vindicate  him  in  that.  It  was  the  reigning 
fault  of  his  time  ;  to  which  his  quick,  lively  fancy  naturally  inclined 
him.  This  shows  that  he  was  not  a  perfect  orator.  But  notwith- 
standing this  defect,  he  had  a  great  talent  for  persuasion.  He  rea- 
soned generally  with  great  force  :  and  he  is  full  of  noble  notions. 
He  knew  the  heart  of  man  entirely  well,  and  was  so  polite,  that  he 
carefully  observed  the  strictest  decency  in  all  his  discourses.  In 
short,  he  expressed  himself  almost  always  m  a  pathetic,  gentle,  in- 
sinuating manner.  Now  ought  not  the  fault  we  observe  in  so  great 
a  man  to  be  forgiven  1 

C.  I  must  own  there  is  one  thing  in  him  that  I  never  observed 
in  any  other  writer  ;  I  mean,  that  he  has  a  moving  way,  even  when 
he  quibbles.  None  of  his  works  are  more  full  of  jingling  turns, 
than  his  confessions  and  soliloquies  ;  and  yet  we  must  own  they 
are  tender,!  and  apt  to  affect  the  reader. 

A.  It  is  because  he  checks  the  turns  of  his  fancy  as  much  as 
he  can,  by  the  ingenuous  simplicity  of  his  pious,  affecting  senti- 

t  Missi  nuncios  meos  oinnes  et  sensus  interiores,  ut  quaererem  te,  et  non 
inveni,  quia  male  quserebam.  Video  enim,  lux  niea,  Deus  qui  illuminasti 
me,  quia  male  te  per  illos  quserebam  quia  tu  es  intus,  et  tamen  ipsi,  ubiintrave- 
ris,  nesciverunt — et  tamen  cum  Deum  meum  quffiro,  quaero  nihilominus  quan- 
dam  lucem,  quam  non  capit  oculus  ;  quandam  vocem  super  omnem  vocem, 
quam  non  capit  auris  ;  quendam  odorem  super  omnem  odorem,  quern  non  ca- 
pit naris  ;  quendam  dulcorem  super  omnem  dulcorem,  quern  non  capit  gestus  ; 
quendam  amplexum  super  omnem  amplexuni,  quern  non  capit  tactus.  Ista 
lux  quidem  fulget  ubi  locus  non  capit ;  ista  vox  sonat,  ubi  spiritus  non  rapit: 
odor  iste  redolet,  ubi  flatus,  non  spargit :  sapor  iste  sapit  ubi  non  est  edacitas ; 
amplexus  iste  tangitur,  ubi  non  divellitur.  -^ug.  Solil.  §.  31. 

O  dies  praeclara  et  pulchra,  nesciens  vesperura,  non  habens  occasum — ubi 
non  erit  hostis  impugnans,  neque  ulla  illecebra,  sed  summa  et  certa  securitas, 
secura  tranquillitas,  et  tranquilla  jocunditas,  jocunda  felecitas,  foelix  aeternitas, 
aeterna  beatitudo,  et  beata  Trinitas,  et  Trinitatis  unitas,  et  unitatis  Deitas,  et 
Deitatis  beata  visio,  qua?  est  gaudium  Domini  Dei  tui.         Aug.  SoUL  §.  35. 

t  Quemadmodum  des'derat  cervus  ad  fontes  aquarum,  ita  desideratanima  mea 
ad  te,  Deus.  Sitivit  anima  mea  ad  te  Deum,  fontem  vivum  :  quando  veniam 
et  apparebo  ante  faciem  tuam  ?  O  fons  vitae,  vena  aquarum  viventium  ;  quando 
viniam  ad  aquas  dulcedinis  tuas  de  terre  deserta,  invia  et  inaquosa  ;  ut  videam 
virtutera  tuam,  et  gloriam  tuam,  et  satiem  ex  aquis  misericordias  tuae  sitim 
meam  ?  sitio,  Domine,  fons  vitae  es  satia  me.  Sitio,  Domine,  sitio  te  Deum 
vivum  :  O  quando  veniam  et  apparebo,  Domine,  ante  faciem  tuam  ? 

Aug.  Solil.  cap.  XXXV. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  95 

ments.  All  his  works  plainly  show  his  love  of  God.  He  was  not 
only  conscious  of  it,  but  knew  well  how  to  express  to  others  the 
strong  sense  he  had  of  it.  Now  this  tender,  affecting  way,  is  a  part 
of  eloquence.  But  we  see  besides  that  St.  Austin  knew  exactly  all 
the  essential  rules  of  it.  He  tells  us*  that  a  persuasive  discourse 
must  be  simple  and  natural ;  that  art  must  not  appear  in  it ;  and  that 
if  it  be  too  fine  and  elaborate,  it  puts  the  hearers  upon  their  guard 
To  this  purpose  he  applies  these  words,  which  you  cannot  but  re- 
member, *  qui  sophistice  loquitur  odibilis  est.'  He  talks  likewise 
very  judiciously  of  the  mixing  different  kinds  of  style  in  a  discourse  ; 
of  ranging  the  several  parts  of  it  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  it 
increase  gradually  in  strength  and  evidence;  of  the  necessity  of 
being  plain  and  familiar,  even  as  to  the  tones  of  the  voice,  and  our 
action  in  particular  passages  ;  though  every  thing  we  say  should 
still  have  a  dignity  when  we  preach  religion.  In  fine,  he  likewise 
shows  the  way  to  enlighten  and  move  people.  These  are  St.  Aus- 
tin's notions  of  eloquence.  But  if  you  would  see  with  how  much 
art  he  actually  influenced  people's  minds,  and  with  what  address 
he  moved  their  passions,  according  to  the  true  design  of  eloquence, 
you  must  read  the  account  he  gives  of  a  discourse  he  made  to  the 
people  of  Caesarea,  in  Mauritania,  in  order  to  abolish  a  barbarous 
practice.  It  seems  there  prevailed  among  them  an  ancient  custom, 
which  they  had  carried  to  a  monstrous  pitch  of  cruelty.  His  busi- 
ness therefore  was  to  draw  off  the  people  from  a  spectacle  that  de- 
lighted them  extremely.  Judge  now  what  a  difficult  enterprise  this 
was.  However,  he  tells  us  that  after  he  had  talked  to  them  for 
some  time,  they  spake  aloud  and  applauded  him.  But  he  conclud- 
ed that  his  discourse  had  not  persuaded  them,  seeing  they  amus- 
ed themselves  in  commending  him.  He  thought  he  had  done 
nothing  while  he  only  raised  delight  and  admiration  in  his  hearers  ; 
nor  did  he  begin  to  hope  for  any  good  effect  from  his  discourse, 
till  he  saw  them  weep.  *  In  effect,'  says  he,  *  the  people  were  at 
length  prevailed  on  to  give  up^  this  delightful  spectacle  :  nor  has 
it  been  renewed  these  eight  years.'  Is  not  St.  Austin  then  a  true 
orator  ?  Have  we  any  preachers  that  are  able  to  talk  so  powerfully 
now  ?  As  for  St.  Jerom,  he  has  some  faults  in  his  style ;  but  his 
expressions  are  manly  and  great.  He  is  not  regular ;  but  he  is 
far  more  eloquent  than  most  of  those  who  value  themselves  upon 


I 


*  De  doct.  Chr.  1.  2. 
40 


^6  FENELON'S  DIALOGUES 

their  oratory.  We  should  judge  like  mere  grammarians  if  we  ex- 
amined only  the  style  and  language  of  the  fathers.  You  know 
there  is  a  great  difference  between  eloquence,  and  what  we  call 
elegance,  or  purity  of  style.  St.  Ambrose  likewise  fell  into  the 
fashionable  defects  of  his  time  ;  and  gives  his  discourse  such  orna- 
ments as  were  then  in  vogue.  Perhaps  these  great  men  (who  had 
higher  views  than  the  common  rules  of  rhetoric,)  conformed  them- 
selves to  the  prevailing  taste  of  the  age  they  lived  in,  that  they 
might  the  better  insinuate  the  truths  of  religion  upon  people's 
minds,  by  engaging  them  to  hear  the  word  of  God  with  pleasure. 
But  notwithstanding  tlie  puns  and  quibbles  that  St.  Ambrose  some- 
times uses,  we  see  that  he  wrote  to  Theodosius  with  an  inimitable 
force  and  persuasion.  How  much  tenderness  does  he  express 
when  he  speaks  of  the  death  of  his  brother  Satyrus  ?  In  the  Roman 
breviary  we  have  a  discourse  of  his,  concerning  John  the  Baptist's 
head,  which,  he  says,  Herod  respected  and  dreaded,  even  after  his 
death.  If  you  observe  that  discourse,  you  will  find  the  end  of  it 
very  sublime.  St.  Leo's  style  is  swelling,  but  truly  noble.  Pope  Greg- 
ory lived  still  in  a  worse  age  ;  and  yet  he  wrote  several  things  with 
much  strength  and  dignity.  We  ought  to  distinguish  those  failings 
into  which  the  degeneracy  of  arts  and  learning  led  these  great  men, 
in  common  with  other  writers  of  their  several  ages :  and  at  the 
same  time  observe  what  their  genius  and  sentiments  furnished  them 
with,  to  persuaile  their  hearers. 

C.  But  do  you  think,  then,  that  the  taste  of  eloquence  was  quite 
lost  in  those  ages  that  were  so  happy  for  religion  ? 

M.  Yes :  within  a  little  time  after  the  reign  of  Augustus,  elo- 
quence and  the  Latin  tongue  began  to  decline  apace.  The  fath- 
ers did  not  live  till  after  this  corruption  :  so  that  we  must  not  look 
on  them  as  complete  models.  We  must  even  acknowledge  that  most 
of  the  sermons  they  have  left  us  are  composed  with  less  skill  and 
force,  than  their  other  works.  When  I  showed  you  from  the  testi- 
mony of  the  fathers  that  the  scripture  is  eloquent,  (which  you 
seemed  to  believe  upon  their  credit,)  I  knew  very  well  that  the  or- 
atory of  these  witnesses  is  much  inferior  to  that  of  the  sacred  writ- 
ings themselves.  But  there  are  some  persons  of  such  a  depraved 
taste,  that  they  cannot  relish  the  beauties  of  Isaiah  ;  and  yet  they 
will  admire  Chrysologus,  in  whom  (notwithstanding  his  fine  name,) 
there  is  little  to  be  found  besides  abundance  of  evangelical  piety 
couched  under  numberless  quibbles  and  low  witticisms.     In  the 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  '  97 

east,  the  just  way  of  speaking  and  writing  was  better  preserved  ;  and 
the  Greek  tongue  continued  for  some  time  almost  in  its  ancient  pu- 
rity. St.  Chrysostom  spake  it  very  well.  His  style,  you  know,  is 
copious  ;  but  he  did  not  study  false  ornaments.  All  his  discourse 
tends  to  persuasion  :  he  placed  every  thing  with  judgment ;  and 
was  well  acquainted  with  the  holy  scriptures  and  the  manners  of 
men.  He  entered  into  their  hearts,  and  rendered  things  familiarly 
sensible  to  them.  He  had  sublime  and  solid  notions,  and  is  some- 
times very  affecting.  Upon  the  whole,  we  must  own  he  is  a  great 
orator.  St.  Gregory  Nanzianzen  is  more  concise,  and  more  poetical ; 
but  not  quite  so  persuasive.  And  yet  he  has  several  moving  passa- 
ges ;  particularly,  in  his  funeral  oration  upon  his  brother  St.  Basil  ; 
and  in  his  last  discourse  at  taking  leave  of  Constantinople.  St. 
Basil  is  grave,  sententious,  and  rigid,  even  in  his  style.  He  had 
meditated  profoundly  on  all  the  truths  of  the  gospel ;  he  knew  ex- 
actly all  the  disorders  and  weaknesses  of  human  nature ;  and  he 
had  a  great  sagacity  in  the  conduct  of  souls.  There  is  nothing 
more  eloquent  than  his  epistle  to  a  virgin  that  had  fallen ;  in  my 
opinion  it  is  a  masterpiece.  But  now  if  a  preacher  should  not  have 
formed  his  taste  in  these  matters  before  he  studies  the  fathers,  he 
will  be  in  danger  of  copying  the  most  unaccurate  parts  of  their 
works,  and  may  perhaps  imitate  their  chief  defects  in  the  sermons 
he  composes. 

C.     But  how  long  continued  this  false  eloquence  which  succeed- 
ed the  true  kind  ? 

A.     Till  now. 

C.     What  do  you  mean  ?  Till  now  ? 

A.  Yes,  till  now  :  for  we  have  not  yet  corrected  our  taste  of 
eloquence,  so  much  as  we  imagine.  You  will  soon  per- 
ceive the  reason  of  it.  The  barbarous  nations  that  over- 
ran the  Roman  empire  did  spread  ignorance  and  a  bad  taste 
every  where.  Now  we  descended  from  them.  And  though  learn- 
ing began  to  revive  in  the  fifteenth  century,  it  recovered  then  but 
slowly.  It  was  with  great  difficulty  that  we  were  brought  by  de- 
grees to  have  any  relish  of  a  right  manner  ;  and  even  now,  how 
many  there  are  who  have  no  notion  of  it !  However,  we  ought  to 
show  a  due  respect  not  only  to  the  fathers,  but  to  other  pious  au- 
thors, who  wrote  during  this  long  interval  of  ignorance.  From 
them  we  learn  the  traditions  of  their  time,  and  several  other  useful 
instructions.  I  am  quite  ashamed  of  giving  my  judgment  so  freely 
on  this  point;  but,  gentlemen,  you  desired   me.     And  I  shall  be 


98  FENELON'S  DIALOGUES 

very  ready  to  own  my  mistakes  if  any  one  will  undeceive  me. 
But  it  is  time  to  put  an  end  to  this  Conversation. 

C  We  cannot  part  with  you  till  you  give  us  your  opinion  about 
the  manner  of  choosing  a  text. 

Jl.  You  know  very  well  that  the  use  of  texts  arose  from  the  an- 
cient custom  that  preachers  observed  in  not  delivering  their  own 
reflections  to  the  people,  but  only  explaining  the  words  of  the  sa- 
cred text.  However,  by  degrees  they  came  to  leave  off*  this  way  of 
expounding  the  whole  words  of  the  gospel  that  was  appointed  for 
the  day,  and  discoursed  only  upon  one  part  of  it,  which  they  called 
the  text  of  the  sermon.  Now  if  the  preacher  does  not  make  an  ex- 
act explication  of  the  whole  gospel,  or  epistle,  he  ought  at  least  to 
choose  those  words  that  are  most  important,  and  best  suited  to  the 
wants  and  capacities  of  the  people.  He  ought  to  explain  them  well, 
and  to  give  a  right  notion  of  what  is  meant  by  a  single  word  ;  it  is 
ofttimes  necessary  to  expound  many  others  in  the  context.  But 
there  should  be  nothing  refined  or  far  fetched  in  such  instructions. 
It  must  look  very  strange  and  awkward  in  a  preacher  to  set  up  for 
wit  and  delicacy  of  invention,  when  he  ought  to  speak  with  the  ut- 
most seriousness  and  gravity ;  out  of  regard  to  the  authority  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  whose  words  he  borrows. 

C.  I  must  confess  I  always  disliked  a  forced  text.  Have  you 
not  observed  that  the  preacher  draws  from  a  text  whatever  sermons 
he  pleases?  He  insensibly  warps  and  bends  his  subject  to  make 
the  text  fit  the  sermon  that  he  has  occasion  to  preach.  This  is 
frequently  done  in  the  time  of  Lent.     I  cannot  approve  of  it. 

JB.  Before  we  conclude,  I  must  beg  of  you  to  satisfy  me  as  to 
one  point  that  still  puzzles  me ;  and  after  that  we  will  let  you  go. 

A.  Come,  then,  let  us  hear  what  it  is.  I  have  a  great  mind  to 
satisfy  you  if  I  can.  For  1  heartily  wish  you  would  employ  your 
parts  in  making  plain  and  persuasive  sermons. 

H.  You  would  have  a  preacher  explain  the  holy  scriptures  with 
connexion,  according  to  the  obvious  sense  of  them. 

A.     Yes :  that  would  be  an  excellent  method. 

jB.  Whence  then  did  it  proceed  that  the  fathers  interpreted 
the  scripture  quite  otherwise  ?  They  usually  give  a  spiritual, 
and  allegorical  meaning  to  the  sacred  text.  Read  St.  Aus- 
tin, St.  Ambrose,  St.  Jerom,  Origen,  and  others  of  the  fathers  ; 
they  find  mysteries  every  where,  and  seldom  regard  the  letter  of 
scripture. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  99 

^.  The  Jews  that  lived  in  our  Saviour's  days  abounded  in 
these  mysterious  allegorical  interpretations.  It  seems  that  the  The- 
rapeutae  who  lived  chiefly  at  Alexandria,  (and  whom  Philo  reck- 
oned to  be  piiilosophical  Jews,  though  Eusebius  supposes  they  were 
primitive  Christians,)  were  extremely  addicted  to  these  mystical  in- 
terpretations. And  indeed  it  was  in  the  city  of  Alexandria  that 
allegories  began  to  appear  with  credit  among  Ciiristians.  Origen 
was  the  first  of  the  fathers  who  forsook  the  literal  sense  of  scrip- 
ture. You  know  what  disturbance  he  occasioned  in  the  church. 
Piety  itself  seemed  to  recommend  these  allegorical  interpretations. 
And  besides,  there  is  something  in  them  very  agreeable,  ingenious, 
and  edifying.  Most  of  the  fathers,  to  gratify  the  humour  of  the 
people,  (and  probably  their  own  too)  made  great  use  of  them.  But 
they  kept  faithfully  to  the  literal,  and  the  prophetical  sense  (which 
in  its  kind  is  literal  too)  in  all  points  where  they  had  occasion  to 
show  the  foundations  of  the  Christian  doctrine.  When  the  people 
were  fully  instructed  in  every  thing  they  could  learn  from  the  let- 
ter of  scripture,  j,he  fathers  gave  them  those  mystical  interpreta- 
tions to  edify  and  comfort  them.  These  explications  were  exactly 
adapted  to  the  relish  of  the  eastern  people,  among  whom  they  first 
arose  ;  for  they  are  naturally  fond  of  mysterious  and  allegorical  lan- 
guage. They  were  the  more  delighted  with  this  variety  of  inter- 
pretations, because  of  the  frequent  preaching,  and  almost  constant 
reading  of  scripture,  which  was  used  in  the  church.  But  among  us 
the  people  are  far  less  instructed  :  we  must  do  what  is  most  necessary, 
and  begin  with  the  literal  sense,  without  despising  the  pious  expli- 
cations that  the  fathers  gave.  We  must  take  care  of  providing  our 
daily  bread,  before  we  seek  after  delicacies.  In  interpreting  scripture 
we  cannot  do  better  than  to  imitate  the  solidity  of  St.  Chrysostom. 
Most  of  our  modern  preachers  do  not  study  allegorical  meanings, 
because  they  have  sufficiently  explained  the  literal  sense  ;  but  they 
forsake  it  because  they  do  not  perceive  its  grandeur,  and  reckon  it 
dry  and  barren  in  comparison  of  their  way  of  preaching.  But  we  have 
all  the  truths  and  duties  of  religion  in  the  letter  of  the  scripture,  de- 
livered not  only  with  authority,  and  a  singular  beauty,  but  with  an 
inexhaustible  variety  ;  so  that,  without  having  recourse  to  mystical 
interpretations,  a  preacher  may  always  have  a  great  number  of  new 
and  noble  things  to  say.  It  is  a  deplorable  thing  to  see  how  much 
this  sacred  treasure  is  neglected  even  by  those  who  have  it  always 
in  their  hands.     If  the  clergy  applied   themselves  to  the  ancient 


t^  FfiNELON'S  DIALOGUES 

way  of  making  liomilies,  we  should  then  have  two  different  sorts  of 
preachers.  They  who  have  no  vivacity,  or  a  poetical  genius,  would 
explain  the  scriptures  clearly  without  imitating  its  lively,  noble 
manner;  and  if  they  expounded  the  word  of  God  judiciously,  and 
supported  their  doctrine  by  an  exemplary  life,  they  would  be  very 
good  preachers.  They  would  have  what  St.  Ambrose  requires,  a 
chaste,  simple,  clear  style,  full  of  weight  and  gravity  ;  without  af- 
fecting elegance,  or  despising  the  smoothness  and  graces  of  lan- 
guage. The  other  sort  having  a  poetical  turn  of  mind  would  ex- 
plain the  scripture  in  its  own  style  and  figures  ;  and  by  that  means 
become  accomj)lisijed  preachers.  One  sort  would  instruct  people 
with  clearness,  force  and  dignity  ;  and  the  other  would  add  to  this 
powerful  instruction,  the  sublimity,  the  enthusiasm,*  and  vehe- 
mence of  scripture :  so  that  it  would  (if  I  may  so  say)  be  entire, 
and  living  in  them,  as  much  as  it  can  be  in  men  who  are  not  mi- 
raculously inspired  from  above. 

B.  Oh,  Sir :  I  had  almost  forgot  an  important  article.  Have 
a  moment's  patience,  I  beseech  you  :  a  f^ew  words  will  satisfy 
me. 

A.  What  now  ?  Have  you  any  body  else  to  censure  ? 

B.  Yes  :  the  panegyrists.  Do  you  think  that  when  they  praise 
a  saint,  they  ought  so  give  his  character,  as  to  reduce  all  his  actions 
and  all  his  virtues  to  one  point? 

*  Inspiration  may  be  justly  called  divine  enthusiasm — for  inspiration  is  a  real 
feeling  of  the  divine  2ircscnce;    and  enthusiasm  a  false  one. 

Characteristics,  vol.  i.  p.  53. 

This  is  what  our  author  advances,  when  in  hehaU o^ enthusiasm  he  quotes  its 
formal  enemies,  and  shows  that  they  are  as  capable  of  it  as  its  greatest  confes- 
sors and  martyrs.  So  far  is  he  from  degrading  enthusiasm,  or  disclaiming  it  in 
himself,  that  he  looks  on  this  passion,  simply  considered,  as  the  most  natural ; 
and  its  ohject,  the  justest  in  the  world,  Even  virtue  itself  he  takes  to  be  no 
other  than  a  noble  enthusiasm  jusi]y  directed  and  regulated  by  that  high  stan- 
dard which  he  supposes  in  the  nature  of  things — nor  is  thorough  honesty,  in  his 
hypothesis,  any  other  than  this  zeal,  or  passion,  moving  strongly  upon  the  spe- 
cies, or  view  of  the  decorum  and  sublime  of  actions.  Others  may  pursue  differ- 
ent forms,  and  fix  their  eye  on  different  species,  (as  all  men  do  on  one  or  other: 
the  real  honest  man,  however  plain  or  simple  he  appears,  has  that  highest  spe- 
cies, [the  honestum,  pulchrum,,  ro  KecXov  tt^zttov^  honesty  ilseUin  view;  and, 
instead  Oi  outicard  forms  or  symmetries,  is  struck  with  that  of  in  ward  character, 
the  harmony  and  numbers  of  the  heart,  and  beauty  of  the  affections ^  which 
form  the  manners  and  conduct  of  a  truly  social  li^e upon  the  whole,  there- 
fore according  to  our  author,  enthusiasm  is  in  itself,  a  very  natural,  /toncsf  pas- 
sion, and  has  properly  nothing  for  its  object   but  what  is  good  and  honest. 

Char.  vol.  Hi.  Miscel.  2.  ch.  1. 


CONCERNING  ELOQUENCE.  lOl 

A.  Tliat  shows  the  orator's  invention  and  refined  sense. 

B.  I  understand  you.  It  seems  you  do  not  like  that 
method. 

j1.  I  think  it  wrong  in  most  cases.  He  must  put  a  force  upon 
things,  who  reduces  them  ail  to  a  single  point.  There  are  many 
actions  of  one's  life  that  flow  from  divers  principles,  and  plainly 
show  that  he  possessed  very  different  qualities.  The  way  of  refer- 
ing  all  the  steps  of  a  man's  conduct  to  one  cause,  is  but  a  scholastic 
subtilty,  which  shows  that  the  orator  is  far  from  knowing  human 
nature.  The  true  way  to  draw  a  just  character,  is  to  paint  the  whole 
man,  and  to  set  him  before  the  hearer's  eye,  speaking  and  acting. 
In  describing  the  course  of  his  life,  the  preacher  should  chiefly  point 
out  those  passages  wherein  either  his  natural  temper  or  his  piety  best 
appeared.  But  there  should  always  be  something  left  to  the  hear- 
er's own  observation.  The  best  way  of  praising  holy  persons  is  to 
recount  their  laudable  actions.  This  gives  a  body  and  force  to  a 
panegyric :  this  is  what  instructs  people,  and  makes  an  impression 
upon  their  minds.  But  it  frequently  happens  that  they  return  home 
without  knowing  any  thing  of  a  person's  life,  about  whom  they 
haveheaid  an  hour's  discourse;  or  at  least  they  have  heard  many 
remarks  upon  a  few  separate  facts,  related  without  any  connexion 
On  the  contrary,  a  preacher  ought  to  paint  a  person  to  the  life,  and 
show  what  he  was  in  every  period,  in  every  condition,  and  in  the 
most  remarkable  junctures  of  his  life.  This  could  not  hinder  one 
from  forming  a  character  of  him  :  nay,  it  might  be  better  collected 
from  his  actions  and  his  words,  than  from  general  thoughts  and 
imaginary  designs. 

JB.  You  would  choose  then  to  give  the  history  of  a  holy  person's 
life,  and  not  make  a  panegyric. 

*d.  No  :  You  mistake  me.  I  would  not  make  a  simple  narra- 
tion. I  should  think  it  enough  to  give  a  coherent  view  of  the  chief 
facts  in  a  concise,  lively,  close,  pathetic  manner.  Every  thing 
should  help  to  give  a  just  idea  of  the  holy  person  I  praised,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  give  proper  instruction  to  the  hearers.  To  this 
I  would  add  such  moral  reflections,  as  I  should  think  most  suitable. 
Now  do  not  you  think  that  such  a  discourse  as  this  would  have  a 
noble  and  amiable  simplicity  ?  Do  not  you  believe  that  the  lives  of 
holy  people  would  be  better  understood  this  way,  and  an  audience 
be  more  edified,  than  they  generally  are  ?  Do  you  not  think  that  ac- 
cording to  the  rules  of  eloquence  we  laid  down,  such  a  discourse 


lU3  FENELON'S   DIALOGUES. 

would  even  be  more  eloquent  than  those  overstrained  panegyrics 
that  are  commonly  made  ? 

B.  I  am  of  opinion  that  such  sermons  as  you  speak  of  would 
be  as  instructive,  as  affecting,  and  as  agreeable  as  any  other.  I 
am  now  satisfied,  Sir  :  it  is  time  to  release  you.  I  hope  the  pains 
you  have  taken  with  me  will  not  be  lost,  for  I  have  resolved  to  part 
with  all  my  modern  collections  and  Italian  wits  ;  and  in  a  serious 
manner  to  study  the  whole  connexion  and  principles  of  religion, 
by  tracing  them  back  to  their  source. 

C  Farewell,  Sir  :  the  best  acknowledgment  I  can  make,  is,  to 
assure  you,  that  I  will  have  a  great  regard  to  what  you  have  said. 

A.  Gentlemen,  good  night.  I  will  leave  you  with  these  words 
of  St.  Jerom  to  Nepotian  :  '  When  you  teach  in  the  church,  do  not 
endeavour  to  draw  applause,  but  rather  sighs  and  groans  from  the 
people;  let  their  tears  praise  you.  The  discourses  of  a  clergyman 
should  be  full  of  the  holy  scripture.  Be  not  a  declaimer,  but  a 
true  preacher  of  the  mysteries  of  God.' 


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